Ki Tavo
Deut. 26:1-29:8
Précis: The parasha contains numerous religious mandates regarding the formation of a civil and moral community (including tithes of first fruits and tithes to support the Levites). The People are promised that if they follow God’s instructions, they will be transformed into a “holy people.” They are further instructed that they have a choice in their own destiny: there are blessings and curses (the “Admonition”), and they must to choose between the two, and take the consequences. The parasha ends with Moses reminding the People about all that God had done by bringing them from Egypt, providing sustenance, defeating their foes, and giving them the Land.
Deut. 28:67 “In the morning you will say, ‘Would that it were evening,’ and in the evening you will say, ‘Would that it were morning,’ from your heart’s fright with which you will be afraid…”
Of the curses which are enumerated in this parasha, this is perhaps the most all-encompassing: living with all-consuming fear. FDR told us that the only thing we had to fear was fear itself. While that was a President at his most optimistic, nevertheless he underscored the danger caused by fear.
Some believe that the current American administration is one which seeks to provoke the kind of fear which FDR (and our parasha) warned against. Others may choose to believe that there is a fearsome conspiracy of the media and so-called "deep-state" which has them wishing it was morning again.
What both sides have in common is that they are motivated by fear, and see the world through a fearful lens. Our parasha teaches us that this need not be the case. We have a choice in our own destiny and need to overcome those doubts and actions which inhibit our ability to see the best of futures.
As we approach the Yamim Noraim, perhaps we should repent of a particular sin this year: the sin of giving in to fear.
