Parshah Summary – P’shat
The parshah begins by instructing a ritual of gratitude to be performed when the Children of Israel cultivate the land: the celebrant should put the first-ripened fruits (bikurim) of their orchard into a basket and bring it to the place where Hashem “chooses” to “make the Holy Name rest.” The celebrant then offers these first fruits, making a declaration of having come out of slavery in Egypt and into the “land flowing with milk and honey.” The celebrant then “rejoices” with one’s family as well as with the “stranger.” The parshah continues with the laws of tithes given to the Levites and the poor, along with detailed instructions on how to proclaim the blessings and curses on Mount Gerizim and Mount Eival, as discussed at the beginning of Parshat Re’eh. The latter part of Ki Tavo consists of a long, harsh account of the curses—illness, famine, poverty and exile—that shall befall them if they abandon the Torah. It concludes with Moses’ words that “only today,” forty years after their birth as a people, have they attained “a heart to know, eyes to see and ears to hear.
Torah of Awakening | Jewish Meditation Teaching
וְהָיָה֙ כִּֽי־תָב֣וֹא אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר֙ יְהֹ–וָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ נַחֲלָ֑ה וִֽירִשְׁתָּ֖הּ וְיָשַׁ֥בְתָּ בָּֽהּ׃ When you enter the land that Hashem your God is giving you as a heritage, and you possess it and settle in it... - Devarim (Deuteronomy) 26:1-2 Parshat Ki Tavo
Before drawing water for the baking of matzah in preparation for Pesakh, Rabbi Moshe of Kobryn said to those standing around him, “The king teaches his soldiers all manner of military maneuvers. But, when they are in the thick of the fight, they throw all they have learned overboard and simply shoot. In respect to the drawing of water for the baking of matzah, there are many mysteries to be learned, but when it comes to the action itself, all I know is the doing of the moment; the doing is, itself, is the Supreme Mystery.”
All of our common experiences are, at their root, completely ineffable and inexplicable, yet we take their reality for granted because they are so common. Like the flavor of food, for example, or music – can you explain the experience of listening to music? Can we even know what music is? Of course not – music is a mystery. Flavor is a mystery. And yet, if someone says, “mmmmm” we understand they’re enjoying food, because we know the experience. If we see someone dancing to a rhythm, we know they are hearing music. We can’t really explain it, but because we know the experience, we can recognize the outward signs of the experience in someone else. כִּֽי־הִנֵּ֤ה הַחֹ֙שֶׁךְ֙ יְכַסֶּה־אֶ֔רֶץ וַעֲרָפֶ֖ל לְאֻמִּ֑ים וְעָלַ֙יִךְ֙ יִזְרַ֣ח יְה–וָ֔ה וּכְבוֹד֖וֹ עָלַ֥יִךְ יֵרָאֶֽה׃ For behold! Darkness shall cover the earth, and thick clouds the peoples; but upon you the Divine will shine, And Its Presence be seen upon you. - Isaiah 60:2, Haftora Ki Tavo What does this mean? It sounds like a contradiction – if “darkness covers the earth,” how can the Divine “shine” and Its “Presence” be seen? But that’s the point – you cannot “see” the Divine any more than you can “see” the flavor of food, or “smell” the sound of music. The dimension of the sacred is, nevertheless, not an uncommon experience; we know the outward signs of it, just like we recognize the savoring of food or dancing to music. What are the outward signs? הַמַּכִּיר אֶת מְקוֹמוֹ – knowing one’s place… (Pirkei Avot, 6:6) In Pirkei Avot, there is a list of qualities one needs to acquire wisdom, and among them is הַמַּכִּיר אֶת מְקוֹמוֹ – knowing one’s place. It may sound like a negative thing, like being passive and not speaking up for yourself. But the word for knowing, מַּכִּיר makir, also means “friend” or “acquaintance” – so the “knowing” is like the knowing of a friend, of someone with whom you are well acquainted. The word for “one’s place” – מְקוֹמוֹ m’komo – is a form of מָקוֹם Makom, which is also a Divine Name! So, to be הַמַּכִּיר אֶת מְקוֹמוֹ hamakir et m’komo means to “make friends” with this place that you are actually in, right now, and thereby connect with the Divine Presence that shines beneath the surface of this moment. Even deeper: מְקוֹמוֹ m’komo is possessive: “one’s place” – and the “Place” is God! In other words, this is a becoming acquainted with one’s own Divine Essence; this is meditation. When we witness someone with this depth of Presence, we can recognize it – we can sense an inner light, a friendly aliveness, a peaceful presence. We may not be able to conceptualize it or explain it – הַחֹ֙שֶׁךְ֙ יְכַסֶּה־אֶ֔רֶץ darkness shall cover the earth – but nevertheless, there is recognition. And, from this quality of making friends with the present moment, there naturally arises the next quality mentioned in the mishna: הַשָּׂמֵחַ בְּחֶלְקו –Being happy with one’s portion… It is a fundamental quality of Presence to appreciate what you’ve got. And what have we got? Only This: וְהָיָה֙ כִּֽי־תָב֣וֹא אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ נַחֲלָ֑ה וִֽירִשְׁתָּ֖הּ וְיָשַׁ֥בְתָּ בָּֽהּ׃ When you enter the land that Hashem your God is giving you as a heritage, and you possess it and settle in it… The pasuk is talking about the Children of Israel entering the Promised Land, but on a deeper level, it describes entering into This Land. And this is the perpetual potential ever before us: to settle into This moment, to know that This is ours – this is our heritage, Now. But to be truly שָּׂמֵחַ בְּחֶלְקו samayakh b’helko – happy with our portion – we must realize what we are on the deepest level: וְעָלַ֙יִךְ֙ יִזְרַ֣ח יְהוָ֔ה וּכְבוֹד֖וֹ עָלַ֥יִךְ יֵרָאֶֽה: And upon you the Divine will shine, And Its Presence be seen upon you… This Presence, this Light, is what we are – it is the awareness that befriends this moment and expresses Itself as Radiance and Peace upon the one who realizes. And yet, even though we are this Light, it is easily concealed; we must make the effort to realize this Light by coming to this moment as a friend, by being הַמַּכִּיר אֶת מְקוֹמוֹ hamakir et m’komo even with our own חֹשֶׁךְ hoshekh, with our own darkness, with our own negativity. Because it is through Presence with the darkness – with the fear, with the anger, with the resentments, with the irritability – that we can reclaim the consciousness that has temporarily taken its form and transmute it back into Light. When that happens, it can then be said: ק֥וּמִי א֖וֹרִי כִּ֣י בָ֣א אוֹרֵ֑ךְ וּכְב֥וֹד יְה–וָ֖ה עָלַ֥יִךְ זָרָֽח: Arise, shine, for your light has dawned; The Presence of the Divine has shone upon you! - Isaiah 60:1, Haftora Ki Tavo
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