From: office@etzion.org.il
To: yhe-intparsha@vbm-torah.org
Subject: INTPARSHA61 -45: Parasht Ki Tavo
YESHIVAT HAR ETZION
ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH (VBM)
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Parashat Ki Tavo
The 'Admonition' Revisited
By Rabbi Michael Hattin
Introduction
Parashat Ki Tavo introduces the final section of the Book of
Devarim. Moshe has completed his review and restatement of
the mitzvot of the Torah, and his concluding remarks concern
the people's formal acceptance of the Torah's commands in a
Covenantal Ceremony. "Moshe, the Cohanim and Leviim
addressed all of Israel, stating: 'Be attentive and listen,
Israel, for on this day you have become a people to God your
Lord. Hearken to the voice of God your Lord, perform His
commands and decrees that I enjoin upon you this day'"
(Devarim 27:9-10).
What follows is a description of the assembly to be convened
immediately after the people cross the River Jordan and
enter the land. There they are to gather in the valley of
Shechem located between the summits of Mount Gerizim and
Mount Eval, listen attentively as the Leviim loudly proclaim
the list of so-called 'Blessings' and 'Curses,' and
acknowledge their assent by declaring 'amen!'. This brief
and succinct inventory, in the main detailing infractions
concerning idolatry, veiled breaches of trust, and sexual
immorality, is followed by a concise passage spelling out
the national blessings to be expected and enjoyed if the
people of Israel observe the Torah. A much lengthier
section describing the dire consequences that will befall
the people of Israel if they fail to hearken to the Torah's
words, follows this in turn (Devarim 29:1-69). In
traditional sources, this section is known as the 'Tokhecha'
or 'Admonition,' and tends to be publicly read as part of
the Shabbat synagogue service with much foreboding and
unease.
The 'Admonition' of Parashat BeChukotai
Actually, this structure of blessings and curses pronounced
to the people of Israel as a nation, with an emphasis on the
ominous results of non-observance, also constitutes the
conclusion of the Book of Vayikra/Leviticus, Parashat
BeChukotai (VaYikra 26:3-47). There, after Moshe had
finished the transmission of the commands that he had
received from God at Sinai, the Torah spells out in
unsettling terms the retribution that will be visited upon
the people of Israel if they fail to live up to their
destiny. Externally, the two sections are quite similar.
In both cases, the passage in question is presented as a
conclusion to a lengthy and detailed collection of mitzvot,
is addressed to the nation as a whole as a formal covenant,
and utilizes graphic terms and images to impress upon the
people the necessity of adherence.
Naturally, the similarities of setting, form, and theme
invite us to compare the two passages, and this the
commentaries do with thoroughness. This week, we shall
consider the words of the Ramban, the great 13th century
Spanish commentator. Although we have already noted many
similarities between the passages, the Ramban takes
particular interest in pointing out both the glaring as well
as the more subtle differences. As a result of these
differences and with the benefit of more than one thousand
years of hindsight, the Ramban posits that the two passages
actually refer to two completely different historical
periods. The Ramban's comments certainly provide much
insight into this week's reading, but his more thorough
treatment of the subject is actually to be found on the
Parasha of BeChukotai, from which we shall quote as
necessary. Readers are recommended to follow along in their
own text of the Chumash since the relevant Scriptural
passages are quite lengthy.
Parashat BeChukotai - Key Features
The 'Admonition' as spelled out in Parashat BeChukotai is
almost fifty verses long. It begins with a brief paragraph
outlining the national blessings to be experienced "If you
follow My decrees and observe My commandments to perform
them" (VaYikra 26:3). These include abundant rainfall,
bountiful harvests, peace and security, triumph over
enemies, and the overarching experience of God's presence,
especially at His sanctuary. This in turn is followed by a
menacing description of calamities that will befall the
people if they abrogate the Torah, including sickness,
disease, oppression by enemies, draught, famine, attack by
beasts, conquest, destruction of the Sanctuary, banishment,
dispersion, and terrible uncertainty in the lands of their
exile.
A) Climactic Progression
Significantly, the structure of the section is climactic,
for it describes a progression of events of increasing
severity, culminating in the destruction of the state, the
devastation of the Temple, and the exile of the people to
far-off lands. Each section is introduced with a similar
refrain: "If you still refuse to hearken to Me, then.,"
implying the possibility of arresting the process by again
embracing the Torah's commands. Significantly, the passage
doesn't only speak in generalities concerning non-
observance, but spells out two particular transgressions.
The first of these is idolatry - "I will demolish your high
places and destroy your sun images. Your corpses will be
strewn upon your abominable idols, and I will detest you!"
(VaYikra 26:30). The second is the failure to observe the
'Sabbatical Year,' the seventh year of the agricultural
cycle during which most farming activities are curtailed -
".while you are in the lands of your enemies, the land will
have its Sabbaths. In desolation, it will have the Sabbaths
that it did not have while you were in it" (VaYikra 26:34-
35).
B) First Person Singular Narration
It must be pointed out that the entire section is phrased in
the first person singular form, for although Moshe conveys
the 'Admonition' to the people, it is God who is the
Speaker: "If you do not listen to ME.I will bring the sword
upon you.I will make the land desolate.I will bring fear
into your hearts." Of course, the dominant message of the
section would not have been substantially different had it
been presented in third person. Nevertheless, the use of
the first person implies an intimacy and a directness that
would have been otherwise lacking: "If you do not listen to
God.He will bring the sword upon you.He will make the land
desolate.He will bring fear into your hearts."
C) Repentance and Resolution
Remarkably, the section concludes on a higher note, for it
holds out the promise of repentance and restoration: "They
shall declare their transgression and that of their
ancestors who trespassed against Me.and I shall remember the
covenant that I made with Yaacov, Yitzhak and Avraham, and I
shall remember the land.Thus, even when they are in the
lands of their enemies, I shall not reject them nor repulse
them entirely to annihilate them, to abrogate My covenant
with them, for I am God their Lord. I shall remember the
earlier covenant for which I took them out of the land of
Egypt for all of the nations to see, in order to be their
Lord, I am God" (VaYikra 26:40-46). Thus, the people of
Israel will return to God and He will restore their
fortunes, for even though they rejected His Torah, God NEVER
abolished His covenant with them. The overall effect of the
'Admonition' in the Book of VaYikra is to foster anxiety and
dread that is nevertheless tinged with hope. By describing
the effects of the people's initial renunciation of the
commandments as necessary steps towards their eventual
return to God and the land, the passage is able to provide a
reassuring sense of closure and resolution.
Parashat Ki Tavo - Key Features
The 'Admonition' of Parashat Ki Tavo is almost seventy
verses long. Like its counterpart at the end of Sefer
VaYikra, it begins with a section of benefits that address
every aspect of personal and national life. These include
success, agricultural bounty, fertility, victory, renown,
rainfall, and the promise of a continual state of triumph in
all endeavors. Again, these are followed by a lengthier
section of disasters that will unfold if the people reject
God's word, including illness, disease, draught, defeat in
battle, stark and fierce oppression by enemi constant
failure of crops, attack by foes that precipitates acute
famine and eventual dispersion among hostile nations.
A) A Downward Spiral
In contrast to Parashat BeChukotai, the passages here are
not climactic in structure. Rather than describing a single
progression of famine, conquest and exile, with a
possibility of reversal of fortunes in between each one, the
text in Ki Tavo rather describes a number of repetitive
cycles that spiral inexorably downwards. Although there are
no divisions in the text itself, it is possible to break up
the passage into a number of parts based upon content.
Thus, the first section speaks of sickness, draught and
defeat before one's enemies. The second speaks of being
struck with the terrible 'boils of Egypt', and then
experiencing all manner of oppression at the hands of
foreign powers that seize possessions, property, loved ones,
and the harvest. The third section again contains a
reference to 'evil boils' and goes on to describe the exile
of people and king to a far-off land. The fourth describes
consecutive crop failures, children taken captive, economic
depression and foreign domination. It is only the fifth
section that appears to be predicated upon a model of
progression, for it spells out the arrival of a bitter foe
from 'far-off, the edges of the earth', an enemy who speaks
a foreign language that is unknown to the people. That foe
will lay siege to all of their cities, and the resulting
famine will be so severe that parents will mercilessly
consume their own children. The defeated Jews will be
scattered among all of the nations 'from one end of the
heavens to the other', and will be ignominiously returned by
sea as captive slaves to Egypt, there to be sold to the
surrounding peoples.
B) Third Person and Lack of Specificity
The 'Admonition' of Ki Tavo is composed in third person, for
it describes God as the source of the disasters: "God will
visit the curse upon you.God will take you and your king.
God will scatter you among all of the nations." In contrast
to BeChukotai, the use of the third person fosters a sense
of distance, of a God who is far way and inaccessible, of a
God who is remote. In another departure from the passage in
VaYikra, our 'Admonition' fails to spell out any specific
transgressions that may be regarded as the cause of the
downfall, and limits itself to a very general pronouncement:
"This is because you did not serve God your Lord with joy
and gladness of heart, although you had all."
C) The Despair of Exile
Most disturbingly, the passage ends with no resolution, for
its final words are: "Your life will be suspended before
you, for you shall be fearful night and day and shall have
no stability. In the morning you will say 'if only it were
evening!', and in the evening you shall say 'if only it were
morning!', because of the fear in your heart and because of
the sight before your eyes. God will return you to Egypt in
barges, along the route concerning which I had said that you
would never see it again, and there you shall sell
yourselves as slaves to your enemies, but not shall want to
buy." The promise of a brighter future, of an opportunity
for renewal, of an eventual rehabilitation of fortunes and
restoration to the land is entirely absent from the passage.
The Interpretation of the Ramban - BeChukotai
Based upon many of the comparisons and contrasts outlined
above, the Ramban arrives at a startling conclusion. He
suggests that the two separate sections in fact address two
different historical events that are recounted
chronologically: the destruction of the First Temple at the
hands of the Babylonians some 2500 years ago, and the
destruction of the Second Temple at the hands of the Romans
about 500 years later.
Carefully reading the account of the 'Tokhecha' in
BeChukotai, Ramban singles out the two elements of exile and
redemption. As the passage had suggested, the first exile
was a function of both idolatrous conduct and gross
immorality, two causes singled out for particular censure in
the prophetic writings of the times. It was linked to a
failure to observe the Sabbatical Years, as in fact
Yirmiyahu/Jeremiah, the First Temple prophet of doom,
intimated: "The remnant from the sword was exiled to
Babylon.until the fulfillment of God's word to the prophet
Yirmiyahu that the land would enjoy its Sabbaths, resting
during its desolation until the completion of seventy years"
(Divrei HaYamim/Chronicles 2:36:20-21). Conversely, the
redemption foretold in BeChukotai spoke of a remembrance of
the covenant and a return, but did not mention a complete
ingathering of exiles or the founding of an ideal state.
Indeed, a remnant did return from Babylon, "few in number
and representing only some of the tribes, indigent and
captive to the Persian kings who gave their consent."
(Ramban, commentary to VaYikra 26:16).
Of course, the Ramban's interpretation is helpful in
explaining other features. The 'Admonition' in BeChukotai
was composed as a climactic progression, with a refrain that
raised the possibility of arresting the process. In fact,
it is well documented in the writing of Yirmiyahu that
almost until the Babylonian war machines were breaking down
the gates of Jerusalem, there were ample opportunities to
avert the disaster. The people had been told to mend their
evil ways, but they refused. Zedekiah, the final Judean
King, had been advised by Yirmiyahu not to court invasion by
withholding tribute, but he refused.
The immediacy of God's presence, the hallmark of the First
Temple period, was signified in the text by the use of the
first person, and by the recurring references to His
Sanctuary. A world steeped in idolatry at least understood
the importance of relating to the gods, as human hearts of
the time fumbled in ignorance and darkness for an experience
of the divine. In parallel fashion, the potential to
apprehend the God of Israel, the True Creator and Sustainer
of the Universe, was correspondingly higher, and the
destruction of His Temple was thus understood to signal the
end of His overt involvement in the world of men.
The Ramban's Interpretation - Ki Tavo
"The covenant in the Book of Devarim, however, refers to our
present state of exile and our eventual redemption from it.
Here, the Torah does not allude to its coming to an end, but
only makes the matter contingent upon repentance. The
'Admonition' in Ki Tavo makes no mention of idolatry
whatsoever, for as we know, during the period of the Second
Temple, the people occupied themselves with Torah and good
deeds, but were guilty of causeless hatred...Here, the
passage says that 'God will bring upon you a nation from
afar, from the ends of the earth, who will soar like the
eagle', and indeed the Romans arrived, speaking a language
that we did not understand.The verses state that 'God will
scatter you among the nations from one end of the heavens to
the other', and indeed in our present exile, we are
dispersed across the world.Just as the passages suggest, the
Romans ruled over our land .and placed upon us heavy
taxation." (Ramban, commentary to VaYikra 26:16).
Addressing our Parasha in Ki Tavo, the Ramban adds: "The
verse states that 'God will bring upon you a nation from
afar', for Vespasian and Titus his son arrived with many
troops and captured all of the fortified cities.
Eventually, they besieged Jerusalem and breached its walls,
so that only the Temple Mount remained beyond their grasp.
Indeed, the famine was so acute, that cannibalism broke out,
until the city was completely captured and the Jews were
driven far away from their land." (commentary to Devarim
28:42).
Thus, the references to a far-off conqueror whose language
was unknown but who would soar like the eagle, were an apt
description of Imperial Rome. Located over the western
horizon of the 'Great Sea' (the Mediterranean), Rome must
have initially seemed very far away, especially to a people
for whom Latin was incomprehensible. But the predatory
eagle, proudly borne aloft on the standards of the Roman
legions, eventually landed in the state of Judea, when
Pompey was invited to mediate in an idynastic struggle
between the two Hasmonean brothers, Yochanan Hyrcanus, and
Yehuda Aristobulus, who both vied for the throne of Judea.
Intervene he did, soon besieging the walls of Jerusalem in
63 BCE and bringing the Jewish state under Roman domination
until the Second Temple's destruction in 70 CE. The
inexorableness of exile that seems to color the 'Admonition'
in Ki Tavo can directly be traced to the partisanship,
strife, and infighting that was a permanent feature of the
Judean landscape from the time of Pompey's infamous arrival,
until the final embers of the burned Temple went out some
130 years later.
In contrast to our reading, however, the Ramban claims that
the 'Admonition' in Ki Tavo DOES conclude joyously, for the
tidings of redemption so glaringly and devastatingly missing
from its verses are to be found in next week's reading:
"When all of these things come to pass, the blessing and the
curse.God will return your captivity.even from the edges of
the heavens.and you shall be wealthier and more numerous
than your ancestors ever were." (Devarim 30:1-10). This is
a pledge, explains the Ramban, "addressed to the whole
people of Israel. Furthermore, God promises to eradicate
the enemies who had exiled us. The verse states that 'God
will put these curses upon your enemies and hateful foes who
hounded you', and the double allusion to 'enemies and
hateful foes' is a reference to the two other religions who
have always pursued us. Thus, these words provide an
assurance of the future redemption more reliable than even
the eschatological visions of the Book of Daniel" (Ramban,
commentary to VaYikra 26:16).
Conclusion
This week, we carefully compared the two passages of
'Admonition' in the Torah, and considered the explanation of
the Ramban who assigned them to different historical events.
In both cases, the failure of the Jewish people to live up
to their national destiny was the cause of their downfall.
At the same time, the unfolding narratives implied a
providential foreknowledge of the events that almost gave
the impression of dictating the outcome. This seeming
inevitability doesn't, however, necessarily preclude human
initiative and choice, but only confirms what omniscient God
already knows. As we continue to live out the very process
of ingathering and redemption that Ramban claimed was really
the disconnected conclusion of the 'Tokhecha' of Ki Tavo,
let us hope and pray that we may merit to experience its
final, triumphant conclusion: "God will grant you plenty of
increase in all of your endeavors, your children, your
animals, and your produce for the good. God will again
rejoice over you for the good, just as He rejoiced over your
ancestors. For you will hearken to the voice of God your
Lord, to observe His commandments and decrees that are
recorded in this Book of the Torah, for you will return to
God your Lord with all of your heart and with all of your
soul."
Shabbat Shalom
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