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Parshat Ki Tavo
2003
On Blessings and Curses
This week's parsha, Ki Tavo, opens with the description of the mitzvah of Bikurim, whereby the Israelites are commanded to bring the first fruits of their soil to the Temple and offer them as gifts to God. However, the mitzvah does not end there. Once the priest accepts the offering, the Israelites are further commanded to explicitly state that they have brought the first fruits of the soil which God has given them. It is not enough to simply offer the fruits of our labor to God. Rather, we must recognize that the land does not belong to us; it was given to us to use by God. The parsha goes on to enumerate many blessings the Israelites will enjoy given they abide by God's commandments, including that God will hold us above all nations and make us a holy people. However, these blessings are followed by horrendous, catastrophic curses if the Israelites deviate from God's commandments. These curses include everything from death, disease, drought, slavery, famine, thirst, outliving one's own children, and complete destruction:
Deuteronomy 28:58-61
If you fail to observe faithfully all the terms of this Teaching that are written in this book, to reverence this honored and awesome Name, the Lord our God will inflict extraordinary plagues upon you and your offspring, strange and lasting plagues, malignant and chronic diseases. He will bring back upon you all the sicknesses of Egypt that you dreaded so, and they shall cling to you. Moreover, the Lord will bring upon you all the other diseases and plagues that are not mentioned in this book of Teaching, until you are wiped out.
Your Torah Navigator
Why does the text say "fail to observe faithfully" instead of just "fail to observe?" What extra piece does the "faithfully" add to our understanding of observing the mitzvot?
What is the connection between the mitzvah of bikurim and the presence of these blessings and curses? Is there a connection between recognizing that the fruits of our labor are due to God and receiving blessings, between failing to recognize the source of the Earth and receiving disease, famine, and pestilence?
A Word
The system of reward and punishment laid out here is very explicit, yet we know that many flourish with countless blessings or suffer from severe curses who, according to this model, do not deserve such outcomes. Rarely do we connect our behavior to the presence of famine, disease, and devastation. Perhaps the presence of the mitzvah of Bikurim in this same parsha can teach us to look beyond this binary idea of how and why we receive blessings and curses. At the beginning of the parsha, we learn that not only are we commanded to return the fruits of our soil to God, but we are commanded to recognize that God is the source of all the Earth. We may use the soil to produce sweet fruits, yet we cannot forget from where we received this gift. However, if we neglect to observe the mitzvot and therefore forget to acknowledge the Source of all life, we risk seeing our Earth turn infertile and our fellow human beings go hungry and ill.
Today there is ongoing debate about our individual and societal actions and its possible connections to the very things that the Torah warns us may happen if we forsake the commandments and fail to acknowledge the Source of our fruits. Perhaps this connection can help us to see that though our actions may not directly bring about blessings and curses from a punitive God, our actions themselves do have the power to affect the blessings and curses we receive. May we take the mitzvah of Bikurim to heart and never forget to stop and count our blessings so that they are there for our children, and our children's children.
Prepared by Dena Wigder, Iyyun Fellow, Schusterman International Center.
Learn More
Additional commentaries and text studies on Ki Tavo at MyJewishLearning.com.
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