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Weekly Torah Reading
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Parashat Ki Tavo (“When you go in”)
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Click on the links to display the Scriptures:
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Torah Reading Snapshot:
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Last week’s parashah (Ki Teitzei) listed no less than 74 of the Torah's 613 commandments, covering a wide assortment of rules related to social life in Israel. In this week’s parashah, Moses concludes the legal section of his discourse by ordaining that the first fruits (bikkurim) of the crops be brought to the priests in the central sanctuary in a prescribed ritual.
The parashah begins:
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When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there.
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Bikkurim - First Fruits
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According to Jewish tradition, the first fruits of the crops (bikkurim) referred particularly to shivat ha-minim (the seven species of fruits) of the Promised Land: Wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates (Deut. 8:8). As soon as a Jewish farmer saw the first sign of ripening fruit in his field or orchard, he would tie a string or ribbon around it and designate it as bikkurim.
Later he would pick this fruit, put it in a basket woven of gold and silver (the poor used wicker baskets of peeled willow branches) and set off for the Mishkan (or later to the Temple in Jerusalem) for the festival of Shavu’ot. Since it was a pilgrimage festival, a large procession of other Jews would be carrying their baskets on the road, singing songs of joyful praise. They would place their baskets on oxen adorned with garlands of flowers in a grand parade to Jerusalem! (The ox would later be sacrificed as a shelamim offering). As the pilgrims passed through various towns along the way, they would be accompanied by still others (Deut. 26:1-3).
At the Mishkan (or Temple), each family would present the basket of fruits to a kohen (priest) that would be waved in seven directions (tenufah) and then set before the altar. The following passage would then be recited:
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A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. And the Egyptians treated us harshly and humiliated us and laid on us hard labor. Then we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror, with signs and wonders. And he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O LORD, have given me.' And you shall set it down before the LORD your God and worship before the LORD your God. (Deut. 26:5-11)
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This passage might be familiar to you from the traditional Passover Seder.
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The Ma’aser - Tithe
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Jewish farms were required to leave grain at the edge of a cultivated field so that the poor can harvest it every season (Lev. 19:9). This mitzvah is called peia (PAY-yah, “edge”). Generally a farmer would leave 1/50th of his crops as peia for the poor (other commandments for farmers include leket - leaving dropped stalks for the poor and shikchah - leaving harvested bundles for the poor that were accidentally left behind during the harvest). In addition, Moses commanded that ten percent of the crop (ma'aser) of the third and sixth year of the seven-year Shemittah cycle was to be given to the poor.
There are several types of tithes commanded in the Torah:
- The seasonal peia, leket, and shikchah gleanings that were to be left for the poor.
- Ma’aser behemah: All Kosher cattle were tithed and one tenth of the animals were brought to Jerusalem and offered as a sacrifice in the Mishkan or Temple.
- Ma’aser Rishon: A tenth of a farmer's produce was given to the Levite (who did not have their own portion of land in Israel) as a tithe. This amounted to supporting the priesthood and Torah teachers of Israel.
- Ma'aser Sheni: The land itself was tithed a second (additional) time (after separating the Ma’aser Rishon) on the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th year of the seven-year Sabbatical cycle (shemittah). This produce was taken to the appointed place of worship (later, Jerusalem) and eaten there in celebration.
- Ma'aser Anni: In the 3rd and 6th year, the ma’aser sheni was given to the poor instead of being brought to the appointed place. The poor could then glean from the crops and enjoy the good of the land.
- Ma’aser Kesofim: Today most tithing is done in terms of money, called ma'aser kesofim (a tenth of money). This is the traditional term for the tithe on money income and is distinguished from agricultural and cattle tithes. Every Jew is obligated to give a tenth of his earnings to charity, a custom that goes back to Abraham (Gen. 14:20) and Jacob (who pledged to God that "everything that You give me, I will surely tithe to You" (Gen. 28:22).
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Vidui Ma’aser
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Note that religious authorities did not enforce the tithe. Instead, a formal vow was made every three years stating that the proper amounts of the ma’aser were separated and given as tithes. This is called vidui ma’aser. After making this declaration, the farmer would ask the LORD to bless the land to yield bountiful harvest: 'Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.'
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Blessings and Curses
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Moses then instructed the people to perform a dramatic ritual once they crossed the Jordan river into the Promised Land (this was mentioned earlier in parashat Re’eh). The Israelites were to display large stones inscribed with all words of the Law on Mt. Ebal, and there were to offer sacrifices upon an altar. Six tribes were to stand on Mt. Gerizim, representing the blessings, and the other six tribes were to stand on Mt. Ebal, representing the curses. The Zekanim (elders), the Kohanim (priests) and the Levites (the priest’s assistants), along with the Ark of the Covenant, stood in the valley in between. The Levites then proclaimed curses on those who performed various sins (such as idolatry) and blessings on those avoided them. All of the twelve tribes were to respond to each blessing and curse with "Amen." (For a brief mediation on Yehoshua’s enactment of this ritual, click here.)
In a way, this ritual was like a second Matan Torah, a new giving and acceptance of the Torah in the Promised Land, since the generation present did not experience the giving of the Torah as their ancestors who died in the wilderness had.
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The Covenant Renewed in Moav
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After describing this ritual, Moses again warned the Israelites that obedience would bring blessing but disobedience would bring curses, including the prospect of being scattered among the nations in the Diaspora.
The parashah ends with Moses telling the people that even after forty years from their birth as a nation they had yet to obtain "a heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear." Sadly, to this day the veil remains over Israel...
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The Haftarah of Ki Teitzei is called the sixth of the "Haftarot of Consolation," offering encouragement to Israel even in the face of their exile.
This reading from Isaiah 60 is a picture of the Heavenly Jerusalem, which is irradiated with the Light of Mashiach Himself. The multitudes of the righteous dead will be present after the Techiyat Ha-Metim (resurrection of the dead) and finally all Israel will be united in the paradise of the LORD. May this day come soon and may Israel one day all be saved!
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Brit Chadashah Snapshot:
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The Brit Chadashah reading from the book of Ephesians reveals that she’arit Yisrael (remnant Israel) - that is, both Jews and Gentiles who have been grafted into the Mashiach and are thereby made partakers of the New Covenant of the LORD - are blessed with all spiritual blessings.
The reading from the book of Revelation corresponds with the Haftarah reading, providing a clearer picture of the Heavenly Jerusalem, wherein all those raised up into newness of life by the Techiyat Ha-Mashiach (resurrection of the Messiah) will dwell forever and ever.
Blessing:
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