PARASHAT KI-TAVO

 PARASHAT KI-TAVO

Brukhim Habayim Chaverim

What a tremendous scripture we study this week, our portion starts with the words of joy and happiness. After forty years in the wilderness through trials and tribulations and now being able to enter the promised land, an inheritance as promised by HaShem to their Father Avraham. Parashat Ki-Tavo is a unique piece of scripture for the children of Israel and for their survival in the land, and as usual it reads in simplistic words but demands perfect insight and kiddush to learn many extraordinary and deep things of God.

There are two (2) verses in this portion that is critically important to meditate upon very closely; lets look:

וְהָיָה֙ כִּֽי־תָב֣וֹא אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ נַחֲלָ֑ה וִֽירִשְׁתָּ֖הּ וְיָשַׁ֥בְתָּ בָּֽהּ׃וְלָקַחְתָּ֞ מֵרֵאשִׁ֣ית ׀ כָּל־פְּרִ֣י הָאֲדָמָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר תָּבִ֧יא מֵֽאַרְצְךָ֛ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יְהוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לָ֖ךְ וְשַׂמְתָּ֣ בַטֶּ֑נֶא וְהָֽלַכְתָּ֙ אֶל־הַמָּק֔וֹם אֲשֶׁ֤ר יִבְחַר֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ לְשַׁכֵּ֥ן שְׁמ֖וֹ שָֽׁם׃

When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you as a heritage, and you possess it and settle in it, you shall take some of every first fruit of the soil, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is giving you, put it in a basket and go to the place where the LORD your God will choose to establish His name. The great Torah Scholar Or HaChayim says the following: והיה כי תבא, "It will be when you come, etc." The Torah introduces this paragraph with the word והיה, indicating a joyous event; the message is that the only true reason for being joyful is when one is privileged to live in the Holy Land. Compare what David had to say about the return to Zion, i.e. (Psalms 126,2) "then our mouths will be filled with laughter."  Because further in verse 11 this is what Moses advises them this is the 1^st verse I had mentioned about. – Got to do with having Joy and happiness.

וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֣ בְכָל־הַטּ֗וֹב אֲשֶׁ֧ר נָֽתַן־לְךָ֛ יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ וּלְבֵיתֶ֑ךָ אַתָּה֙ וְהַלֵּוִ֔י וְהַגֵּ֖ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּקִרְבֶּֽךָ׃ (ס)

And you shall enjoy, together with the Levite and the stranger in your midst, all the bounty that the LORD your God has bestowed upon you and your household. Whenever we find a Samech at the end of a pasukh it denotes “a closed for common interpretation” and it is SOD level interpretation. So, what is so Mystic about this pasukh – it is the key and the spiritual formula for not only being able to live in Eretz Israel but also the key to happy living on this earth – both ways:

וְאָמַרְתָּ֡ לִפְנֵי֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ בִּעַ֧רְתִּי הַקֹּ֣דֶשׁ מִן־הַבַּ֗יִת וְגַ֨ם נְתַתִּ֤יו לַלֵּוִי֙ וְלַגֵּר֙ לַיָּת֣וֹם וְלָאַלְמָנָ֔ה כְּכָל־מִצְוָתְךָ֖ אֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוִּיתָ֑נִי לֹֽא־עָבַ֥רְתִּי מִמִּצְוֺתֶ֖יךָ וְלֹ֥א שָׁכָֽחְתִּי׃לֹא־אָכַ֨לְתִּי בְאֹנִ֜י מִמֶּ֗נּוּ וְלֹא־בִעַ֤רְתִּי מִמֶּ֙נּוּ֙ בְּטָמֵ֔א וְלֹא־נָתַ֥תִּי מִמֶּ֖נּוּ לְמֵ֑ת שָׁמַ֗עְתִּי בְּקוֹל֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהָ֔י עָשִׂ֕יתִי כְּכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוִּיתָֽנִי׃

“When you have set aside in full the tenth part of your yield—in the third year, the year of the tithe—and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat their fill in your settlements, you shall declare before the LORD your God: “I have cleared out the consecrated portion from the house; and I have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, just as You commanded me; I have neither transgressed nor neglected any of Your commandments: I have not eaten of it while in mourning, I have not cleared out any of it while I was unclean, and I have not deposited any of it with the dead. I have obeyed the LORD my God; I have done just as You commanded me” What a strange verse this seems and the instructions do not seem to make sense reading it in a furtive manner, but chaverim it is crucial to understand – the reason it is sod level interpretation is because the Torah is indicating a spiritual aspect to the commandments. What is the need for joy and happiness – seriously !!!! who do you know is really happy and satisfied with their lives – the rich man and the poor alike are full of complaints and bitterness with their lot in life. It was the same then and it is the same today too – nothing has changed, rather the advice to rejoice and be happy is bizarre going against the grain of Human nature. It is about HaShem instructing us to be happy !!! how is this possible. How am I supposed to make myself happy and rejoice with all that I have – whether little or not much or expectantly more – either way no one can force me to be a happy and content in my life. Now I want you to think about this in depth, since Moses advised them to enter the land and start practicing Joy and Happiness.

The secret to avoiding sin and transgression is being a happy and Grateful person – One must practice happiness and contentment till it becomes primary nature in each one of us. By inculcating positivity in thoughts and intentions, happiness, and contentment we train our mind and bodies to become and reflect the very nature of God which we are created in. Now the root of all evil inside a person starts with SECRET SINS – that are embedded in discontentment and unhappiness, an overload of negative emotions and thought patterns start changing the very structure of the psyche and the physical body too, when this happens the person openly invites impurity of nature and evil presence into his innermost being. Secret sins are then followed up immediately that only the individual and God knows, leading to pathological and societal issues in relationships and unsocial behaviour. The Human nature in it’s purest form created by God is fundamentally to CLEAVE and bask in Him with REJOICING and GRATITUDE as primary nature – it is when a soul is in spiritual exile from the presence of HaShem that the soul is lost and not able to derive cleaving pleasure of joy and happiness from Him, understandably the world today including ourselves have to learn this way, find out how to cleave to God himself and therefore it takes effort and practise to reach a stage of spiritual attachment with Him. Moses was advising the children of Israel to learn the technique of bettering their lives once they enter the land.

Notice that commandments to feed the poor, the widow, the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless is to be performed with a heart of kindness, compassion and genuineness, the selfish man who does not perform deeds of genuineness does not know God, we cannot regret or avoid goodness but must perform righteousness with pureness and gentility of heart. Chaverim the instructions given us are remarkably simple and not complicated yet profound, for God is telling us to change our intentions and behaviour and to REJOICE with GRATITUDE in what we are doing without heaviness of heart. Isaiah says in Chapter 58:8-9

הֲל֨וֹא פָרֹ֤ס לָֽרָעֵב֙ לַחְמֶ֔ךָ וַעֲנִיִּ֥ים מְרוּדִ֖ים תָּ֣בִיא בָ֑יִת כִּֽי־תִרְאֶ֤ה עָרֹם֙ וְכִסִּית֔וֹ וּמִבְּשָׂרְךָ֖ לֹ֥א תִתְעַלָּֽם׃  אָ֣ז יִבָּקַ֤ע כַּשַּׁ֙חַר֙ אוֹרֶ֔ךָ וַאֲרֻכָתְךָ֖ מְהֵרָ֣ה תִצְמָ֑ח וְהָלַ֤ךְ לְפָנֶ֙יךָ֙ צִדְקֶ֔ךָ כְּב֥וֹד יְהוָ֖ה יַאַסְפֶֽךָ׃

“It is to share your bread with the hungry, and to take the wretched poor into your home; When you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to ignore your own kin. Then shall your light burst through like the dawn, and your healing spring up quickly; Your Vindicator shall march before you, The Presence of the LORD shall be your rear guard” We have just unlocked the secret of being able to live in the Land of Eretz Israel – Chaverim going forward when we read the section of the blessings and  the curses we will realize that the curses come into play and get activated  only when the partake of secret sins that separate us form HaShem. Even our Yeshua touched upon this when he commanded the disciples saying unless their righteousness exceeds that of the pharisees and Sadducees they will not enter into the kingdom of Heaven, and again in another portion he says – Freely have you received freely give – and when you do Tzedekah do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. It is all about the Kavannah and Intentions of a person. Once the individual is aligned with the Oneness in existence with HaShem it becomes easy to obtain gentility of heart to perform Tzedekah with kindness and compassion

Moving onto the blessing and curses – the Blessings should flow into one’s life because what we have learnt form above and being able to cleave and bask in the light of the Almighty – deriving sustenance and all goodness form Him, performing the deeds acceptable to God  by rejoicing and being in a state of contentment. Just think about how the Children of Israel continuously grumbling and discontented with God for 40 years in the wilderness, because of which they were continuously performing secret sins that God exposed and dealt with form chapter to chapter in the Torah. Therefore, the curses were added as a straightening rod and rectifying tool for them to come back into Oneness and Cleaving relationship with HaShem.

The Second verse I want to connect with you all today is also very unique and almost miss the read if we are not careful in absorbing what it is saying – Deut 28:8 it says the following:

יְצַ֨ו יְהוָ֤ה אִתְּךָ֙ אֶת־הַבְּרָכָ֔ה בַּאֲסָמֶ֕יךָ וּבְכֹ֖ל מִשְׁלַ֣ח יָדֶ֑ךָ וּבֵ֣רַכְךָ֔ בָּאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לָֽךְ׃

The LORD will ordain the blessing for you upon your barns and upon all your undertakings: He will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. Why does Moses out of all the verses say something different here – all other say they will be blessed, but here HaShem will ordain blessings for you and the language is different. This tells us 2 things which are important 1) that blessings can be of general nature by simply following the instructions or 2) it can be specific given as an act of endearment , which means HaShem can be really happy and pleased with them to instruct a certain blessing over them. – What was this blessing? Look at the verse carefully and analyze what it is about, when did you last hear this word Berachah (Blessing), yeah that’s right in the story of Avraham – the Lord promises him that the Nations would be blessed in him – wonderful. This is because the Word Blessing is in the Singular with definite articles “The Blessing” which points us (et) to the fact that the nations would be grafted into Israel. That is why in the following verse it says the following: 28:9-10

יְקִֽימְךָ֨ יְהוָ֥ה לוֹ֙ לְעַ֣ם קָד֔וֹשׁ כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר נִֽשְׁבַּֽע־לָ֑ךְ כִּ֣י תִשְׁמֹ֗ר אֶת־מִצְוֺת֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ וְהָלַכְתָּ֖ בִּדְרָכָֽיו׃ וְרָאוּ֙ כָּל־עַמֵּ֣י הָאָ֔רֶץ כִּ֛י שֵׁ֥ם יְהוָ֖ה נִקְרָ֣א עָלֶ֑יךָ וְיָֽרְא֖וּ מִמֶּֽךָּ׃

The LORD will establish you as His holy people, as He swore to you, if you keep the instructions of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the LORD’s name is proclaimed over you, and they shall stand in fear of you. See that is the reason why the Torah is talking about the Nations (goyim) going to fear the children of Israel because God has placed His name over them. We have studied the meaning of the word Berachah – which has its root in the word Havarekh (grafted). Chaverim this entire Torah portion is not only about going into their land and getting their heritage and allotment but also that the nations of the world and see and  come close to the Only one Living God through  the Jewish people and would be grafted in as promised to their father Avraham. Therefore, Rav Shaul stresses in the book of Romans about the promises covenants and giving of the Torah through Moses to the Jewish people because they were chosen for this task and role. They also have a role today and in the future chaverim – we cannot simply remove the nation of Israel out of the picture completely.

Thus we see the blessings the children Israel would inherit if they kept the commandments of God would be fruitful and multiply and everything they do would be result in the manifestation of blessings upon themselves in a general way, AND ALSO THE SPECIFIC Blessing of GRAFTING which would bring the nations back to God through them. The Jewish people were supposed to invest heavy in the nations and bring forth harvest and all that we read about First fruits and Harvest and grain some how indicates souls and the ingathering which we will commemorate in the next 2 weeks in the form of SUCCOTH (Feast of Ingathering) Let us look at Tithes now

TERUMAH

The “main” tithe, known by the rabbinic term מעשר שני (the second tithe), is consumed by the owner in “the place God chooses,” (i.e., where the Temple stands, ostensibly Jerusalem). Although it is not a “Levitical tithe,” the Torah does instruct the landowner to take care of the Levite because he is poor – but no specifics are included. The tithe appears to apply only during the first, second, fourth and fifth years of a shemitah cycle,

The poor person’s tithe applies during the third and sixth years. It is consumed at “your gates,” namely in your city or village, not in the Temple. The category “poor” includes the Levite, the stranger, widows and orphans. Although the poor tithe one applies during two out of the sixth tithing years, the confession in Deuteronomy 26, which is to be recited upon delivering the poor tithe, makes this the cornerstone of the tithing system:

Deuteronomy 18:1 – Levites have no inheritance

Terumah means “Contribution “gift or free will offering Exodus 25:1 – 27:19

Target	Rishon	Sheni	Shilishi	Arba'a	Chamsha	Shishi	Shemittah
Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
For Kohanim	Terumah 1/50	Terumah 1/50	Terumah 1/50	Terumah 1/50	Terumah 1/50	Terumah 1/50
For Kohanim From Levites	Terumah Ma'aser 10%	Terumah Ma'aser 10%	Terumah Ma'aser 10%	Terumah Ma'aser 10%	Terumah Ma'aser 10%	Terumah Ma'aser 10%	-
For Levites	Ma'aser Rishon 10%	Ma'aser Rishon 10%	Ma'aser Rishon 10%	Ma'aser Rishon 10%	Ma'aser Rishon 10%	Ma'aser Rishon 10%	-
Self consumed in Jerusalem	Ma'aser Sheni 10%	Ma'aser Sheni 10%	-	Ma'aser Sheni 10%	Ma'aser Sheni 10%	-	-
Charity for the poor in your house	-	-	Ma'aser Oni 10%	-	-	Ma'aser Oni 10%	-

Bikkurim – First fruits brought upto the Mizbeach from the period of Shavuot to Sukkot 7 types were brought and were considered holy and to be consumed only by the Priests

1. Wheat 
2. Barley 
3. Grapes 
4.  Figs 
5. Pomegranates 
6. Olives 
7. Dates

Ma’aser Sheni could be converted into money if the distance were too long and then redeemed back into food in Jerusalem and consumed there. This was done only because the people had a chance of being in Jerusalem and learning Torah while consuming their Tithes. Now let me say that the system of Tithes was specific to the Land of Israel in a physical way and it all centered around the temple. We will learn much about the Tithing system later but for now it is sufficient to understand that the Role of the Jewish People were priests and kohanim to bring the people of the nations as a offering unto God, this is their spiritual duty which they should have performed. Chaverim hope you are blessed and have a wonderful weekend and Shabbath for the Lord. Until next week God bless and choicest blessing upon you and your families. Shalom.