Ki Tavo (When you will come)

Deuteronomy 26-29:8

This week's portion opens with the ceremony of first fruits that is performed in the Temple, once the Children of Israel enter the Land of Israel. "And when you will come to the land that the Lord your G-d has given you as a territory and you will inherit it and settle in it. And you will take from the first of the fruits of the earth which you will bring from your land which the Lord your G-d has given you..." (Deuteronomy 26:1-2). There are a number of words in these first verses that provide the focus for the entire section. The fact that the land has been given to Israel by G-d is mentioned twice in these two sentences, clearly as a means of emphasis in this chapter. Also, the word that I have translated as territory in the first verse, is actually the Hebrew word "Nahala", which includes the concept of inheritance. In other words, Nahala is not merely a piece of land, but one that has been designated as the rightful possession, in essence an inheritance from G-d, of the Jewish people. Following this introduction, the instruction is given to bring the first fruits to the Temple and recite a specific statement which begins with the acknowledgement of Jewish history, the enslavement of the people in Egypt, the exodus brought about by G-d, and the entrance into the Land of Israel, made possible by G-d who has granted the people this "land flowing with milk and honey." (Deut 26:9)

This, then, is a thanksgiving ceremony in the fullest sense of the word. It is not only a ceremony which thanks G-d for the harvest and for the richness of the fruits. It is also, and perhaps primarily, a thanksgiving for the entire process of Jewish history, for the fulfillment of the process that began with the Exodus and culminates with the bringing of the first fruits in the Land of Israel. It emphasizes the fact that the Exodus was not completed with the Revelation at Sinai, which was certainly a monumental event, when the Children of Israel became a people and when they cemented their relationship with G-d in an everlasting covenant. For it is only when they enter the land of Israel, take possession of it and farm it, that the process is truly completed, that the nation is truly free, to worship G-d and settle in their own land. (It is worth comparing this process to the antecedents of the Thanksgiving holiday in the US - a holiday that has always symbolized not only a successful harvest but a sense of entitlement to the land that became the USA.)

These verses speak powerfully to me today in many ways. Even as some Jews question the extent to which Judaism is a nationality or a religion, this verse makes it clear that one cannot be divided from the other. For our relationship with G-d is inherently connected to our relationship to Him as a people, and our worship in the Temple, which functions as the epicenter of the relationship with G-d, is inherently connected to our presence in the Land of Israel and the blessings that G-d will bestow upon us when we settle and farm that land. There is no Jewish religion without Jewish nationalism and there is no Jewish nationalism without the Jewish religion. And when nationalism and religion come together in the Land of Israel, we have a great deal to be thankful for. (A special thank you to my son David, currently serving in the Israeli Army, who, while on leave for Shabbat, shared a beautiful Biblical thought with me that became the basis of this message.)

Greetings from Samaria

Sondra Baras
Director, Israel Office