Parshat Ki Tavo: Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:8

August 25, 2010 by Talia Hava Davis

Continued from Page 1

If the Israelites observed the commandments then G-d will take care of them and their land, their children, their produce, their animals, their comings and goings, defeat their enemies, bless all their undertakings, give them prosperity, and provide rain. Wow. Pretty good deal!

However, if the Israelites did not obey G-d's commandments then . . . remember all the things I just mentioned? Yeah . . . they would be cursed. Their children, animals, ventures, land . . . bring heat, drought, pestilence. Here the portion is going into some interesting detail about killing animals but not being able to eat them, etc. It sounds pretty crummy to me. Crummy enough that I think we should all hang out on the blessings side. One interesting part, Deuteronomy 28:67, says they would never find a place to rest. In fact, every day they would say, "If only it was evening," and every evening they would say, "If only it was morning." That sounds like many of us when we forget what is important. If we focus on money and stuff, we forget to appreciate G-d or the beauty in life and we only strive for the next milestone.

The last bit of this parsha deals with Moses reminding us to remember the past and stay in awe. We survived Pharaoh and Egypt. We wandered the desert for forty years but our clothing and shoes stayed intact. We had no bread or wine or water and yet we lived for so long because G-d took care of us. We fought wars and won. The Israelites had a hard time with this lesson but Moses urged them to observe the commandments because that is what brought us through to this point.

Parshat Ki Tavo from G-dcast.com

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About Talia Hava Davis

As the daughter, niece, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter of rabbis, Talia Davis has been immersed in Jewish culture and communities throughout her life. She has lived in Israel and served as the Religious and Cultural Vice President of the Southeast Region of North American Federation of Temple Youth. Presently she enjoys attending synagogue at a variety of shuls that range from Chabad Orthodox to her father's post-denominational, Rocky Mountain Hai.

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