Friday, August 27, 2010

Deuteronomy Ki Tavo Verses 26:1-29:8

Although I miss the Moshava terribly, I am glad to get back to doing my usual Torah interpretation. Last time we looked at the Book of Life, we were in Numbers. Now we are toward the end of Deuteronomy. Late August and September with Judaism is like October with baseball. The Torah is already a very complicated, beautiful text to figure out. The last few portions are like the post-season. They are intense, difficult, and mean a ton to their domain. Then, Rosh Hashana is the championship series. The path to glory is on the line. Successfully celebrating Rosh Hashana takes us to the World Series. Next, Yom Kippur is the World Series of Judaism. Completing Yom Kippur makes us feel pure, new, and like champions. Maybe the Yankees should go to High Holy Services this year.

Anyways, Parshat Ki Tavo revolves around the idea that the Jews are promising allegiance to God and the commandments they have received in the desert. Then, God officially curses anybody who breaks main points in the Torah. For example, God curses those who do not respect their mother or father. After that, Adonai sends the blessings of following the Torah. Finally, God deciphers the punishments of absolutely disobeying the Torah for the rest of the reading. Let me share that I had shivers after reading the final portion this morning.

Disobeying Torah will lead to pure, personal downfall according to Parshat Ki Tavo. By disobeying, I mean constantly sinning to the point where we are known as a cruel person. Skeptics would say that this is truly not possible. God will not go after us, if we never observe the Sabbath. I like to think maybe this is a mental, personal downfall. In my eyes, Judaism gives me comfort. Faith allows me to take time to reflect and relax. Sitting in a service is like a mental vacation from the politics and pressures of growing up in 2010. Without that comfort, I would have to deal with the stress of life all alone.

As I said I had shivers after reading Parshat Ki Tavo. What makes it controversial is what God states as punishments.

Adultery, plague, sometimes death, and idolization? For instance, "The Lord will bring upon you a nation from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you will not understand,a brazen nation, which will not respect the elderly, nor show favor to the young.They will devour the fruit of your livestock and the fruit of your soil, to destroy you. They will not leave over anything for you of the grain, wine, oil, offspring of your cattle or flocks of your sheep, until they annihilate you." (Deuteronomy 28:49-51). God taught us not to do these things while we wandered desert. Why is God breaking the Torah? Maybe this refers to Parshat Emor. Eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth. Deuteronomy is known to refer the past lessons of the Torah.

This past week I was training for the IGNITE program. In my school, 8th graders are given the chance to mentor 6th graders as the enter the middle school. Being an 8th grader, this week was all about leadership. The first lesson in IGNITE we were taught this week was to lead by example. I do not know about the public, but God's example is not one that I think should be followed.

2 comments:

  1. I think part of the severity in the tone is to allow you to know that this is serious business - not a light hearted story. Adam you have many wonderful examples to follow in life - see them for the positive values and follow those paths!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. A thought-out and unique perspective on the torah portion. I especially like how you connected it with Parshat Emor. Kol HaKavod! With thousands of years of interpretation behind you, it's important to both look at how other ages found meaning and combine it with how you find meaning. I would recommend reading some of the classical commentators such as Rashi for an even deeper understanding of the text.

    ReplyDelete