This week’s parasha, “Ki Tavo”, is from the book of Deuteronomy. The words “Ki Tavo” mean “when you enter”. In this parasha two rituals that the Israelites will be expected to perform when they enter the Land of Israel are described.
For the first ritual the Jewish people take the first fruits of the soil, put it in a basket, and bring an offering to the Temple in Jerusalem. Once they entered the Temple, they were required to recite the words: “My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and populous nation. The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us. We cried to the Lord, the G-d of our fathers, and the Lord heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and our oppression. The Lord freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents. He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Wherefore I now bring the first fruits of the soil which You, O Lord, have given me.”
In Judaism it is extremely important to remember our history and to show appreciation for what we have–this has been incorporated into our ritual since ancient times. When I was growing up, I once had a Christian friend ask to visit my synagogue. Her comment after the service was that so many of the Jewish prayers seemed to be about thanking G-d. We may no longer be bringing baskets of fruit to the Temple, but the custom of giving thanks has survived for thousands of years, and is still reflected in our liturgy today.
During Passover the Haggadah reminds us that each generation is to regard the history of what happened in Egypt as though it had happened to us personally. By remembering the suffering of our ancestors, we will always remember to “be kind to the stranger”, and we will never become arrogant or take anything for granted.
There were two rituals described in the parasha. The second ritual describes how upon entering the Land of Israel, the Israelites were to set up large stones inscribed with the words of G-d. Half the people were to stand on top of Mount Gerizim, half on top of Mount Ebal. The Levites were to stand in the middle. First they would face the people on top of Mount Gerizim and recite a series of blessings; then they would face the people on top of Mount Ebal and recite a series of curses. Mount Gerizim is lush and green, while Mount Ebal is bleak and desolate. The symbolism couldn’t be more obvious. What is the purpose of this ritual?
Moses wanted the people to understand the concept of free will. He was letting the people know that they had a choice. They could either obey G-d’s commandments and be blessed or disobey and be cursed. The choice was theirs to make.
In Christianity there is the concept of original sin, the belief that man is inherently evil. In Judaism it’s a bit more complicated than that: Jews believe that every individual has a yetzer hatov, a good inclination, and a yetzer hara, a bad inclination. The very term “inclination” implies a choice. We have the power to overcome our yetzer hara, if we so choose. We have the ability to do both good and evil, but G-d left the choice up to us.
In the 12th Century the great Jewish philosopher Maimonides wrote:
“Free will is given to every human being. If we wish to incline ourselves toward goodness and righteousness, we are free to do so; and if we wish to incline ourselves toward evil, we are also free to do that. From Scripture we learn that the human species, with its knowledge of good and evil, is unique among all earth’s creatures. Of our own accord, by our own faculty of intelligence and understanding, we can distinguish between good and evil, doing as we choose. Nothing holds us back from making this choice between good and evil—the power is in our hands.”
According to Jewish tradition, the difference between angels and human beings is that humans have free will. G-d gave us the power to be His partners in creation, to transform evil into good. We have the power to change the world if only we would realize it. Every action we take, no matter how small, has immeasurable consequences.
As we approach the High Holidays, it is important to remember this. According to tradition, each of us will be inscribed into one of two books, the Book of Life or the Book of Death. But we are not taking about life and death in the physical sense so much as the spiritual sense. A person who doesn’t learn from their history won’t know where they came from. They won’t appreciate what they have, and they’re more likely to make bad choices, choices that cause them to feel bitter about life—they might as well be dead. A person who can see the blessing in every curse and responds to injustice by choosing to perform acts of tikkun olam—repairing the world–is a person who is engaged and alive.
To summarize, this is what the parasha is telling us: Remember our history and where we came from. Appreciate what we have and never take anything for granted. Find the blessings in every curse or try to turn each curse we experience into a blessing. Above all remember that the choice is ours to make.
Shabbat Shalom.