Ki Tavo

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Ki Tavo, Ki Thavo, Ki Tabo, Ki Thabo, or Ki Savo (כי תבוא — Hebrew for “when you enter,” the second and third words, and the first distinctive words, in the parshah) is the 50th weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the seventh in the book of Deuteronomy. It constitutes Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8. Jews in the Diaspora generally read it in September.

Boy with a Basket of Fruit (painting by Caravaggio)

[edit] Summary

[edit] First fruits

Moses directed the Israelites that when they entered the land that God was giving them, they were to take some of every first fruit of the soil that they harvested, put it in a basket, and take it to the place where God would choose to establish God’s name. (Deut. 26:1–2.) There they were to go to the priest in charge and acknowledge that they had entered the land that God swore to their fathers. (Deut. 26:3.) The priest was to set the basket down in front of the altar. (Deut. 26:4.) They were then to recite:

“A wandering Aramean was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there, few in number; and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous. And the Egyptians dealt ill with us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage. And we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice, and saw our affliction, and our toil, and our oppression. And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders. And He has brought us into this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the land, that You, O Lord, have given me.” (Deut. 26:5–10.)

They were to leave the basket before the altar, bow low to God, and then feast on and enjoy, together with the Levite and the stranger, the bounty that God had given them. (Deut. 26:10–11.)

[edit] Tithes

When they had given the the tenth part of their yield to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, in the third year, the year of the tithe, they were to declare before God:

“'I have put away the hallowed things out of my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to Your commandment that You have commanded me; I have not transgressed any of Your commandments, neither have I forgotten them. I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I put away thereof, being unclean, nor given thereof for the dead; I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God, I have done according to all that You have commanded me. Look from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the land that You have given us, as You swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.” (Deut. 26:12–15.)

a large stone inscribed with the law code of Hammurabi

[edit] Observing the law

Moses exhorted the Israelites to observe these laws faithfully with all their heart and soul, noting that they had affirmed that the Lord was their God, that they would walk in God’s ways, that they would observe Gods laws, and that they would obey God. (Deut. 26:16–17.) And God affirmed that the Israelites were God’s treasured people, and that God would set them high above all the nations in fame and renown and glory, and that they would be a holy people to God. (Deut. 26:18–19.)

Moses and the elders charged the people that as soon as they had crossed the Jordan River, they were to set up large stones on Mount Ebal, coat them with plaster, and inscribe on them all the words of the Torah most distinctly. (Deut. 27:1–4.) There they were also to build an altar to God made of unhewn stones on which no iron tool had struck, and they were to offer on it burnt offerings to God and offerings of well-being and rejoice. (Deut. 27:5–7.)

Moses and the priests told all Israel to hear: They had become the people of God, and should heed God and observe God’s commandments. (Deut. 27:9–10.)

[edit] Blessings and curses

Moses charged the people that after they had crossed the Jordan, the tribes of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin were to stand on Mount Gerizim when the blessings were spoken, and the tribes of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphthali were to stand on Mount Ebal when the curses were spoken. (Deut. 27:11–13.) The Levites were then loudly to curse anyone who: made a sculptured image, insulted father or mother, moved a fellow countryman’s landmark, misdirected a blind person, subverted the rights of the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, lay with his father’s wife, lay with any beast, lay with his sister, lay with his mother-in-law, struck down his fellow countryman in secret, accepted a bribe in the case of the murder of an innocent person, or otherwise would not observe the commandments; and for each curse all the people were to say, “Amen.” (Deut. 27:14–26.)

panorama showing Mount Gerizim on the left, Mount Ebal on the right, and modern Nablus (ancient Shechem) between (photographed by and copyright Uwe A; for licensing information, double-click on the picture)

On the other hand, if they obeyed God and observed faithfully all the commandments, then God would set them high above all the nations of the earth, bless them in the city and the country, bless the issue of their wombs, the produce of their soil, and the fertility of their herds and flocks, bless their basket and their kneading bowl, bless them in their comings and goings, rout their enemies, bless them upon their barns and all their undertakings, bless them in the land, establish them as God’s holy people, give them abounding prosperity, provide rain in season, and make them the head and not the tail. (Deut. 28:1–14.)

But if they did not obey God and observe faithfully the commandments, then God would curse them in the city and the country, curse their basket and kneading bowl, curse the issue of their womb, the produce of their soil, and the fertility of their herds and flocks, curse them in their comings and goings, loose on them calamity, panic, and frustration in all their enterprises, make pestilence cling to them, strike them with tuberculosis, fever, inflammation, scorching heat, drought, blight, and mildew, turn the skies to copper and the earth to iron, make the rain into dust, rout them before their enemies, strike them with the Egyptian inflammation, hemorrhoids, boil-scars, itch, madness, blindness, and dismay. (Deut. 28:15–29.) If they paid the bride price for a wife, another man would enjoy her; if they built a house, they would not live in it; if they planted a vineyard, they would not harvest it. (Deut. 28:30.)

Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem (painting by Francesco Hayez)

Their oxen would be slaughtered before their eyes, but they would not eat of it; their ass would be seized and not returned; their flock would be delivered to their enemies; their sons and daughters would be delivered to another people; a people they did not know would eat up the produce of their soil and all their gains; they would be abused and downtrodden continually, until they were driven mad; God would afflict them at the knees and thighs with a severe inflammation; God would drive them to an unknown nation where they would serve other gods, of wood and stone; and they would be a consternation, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples. (Deut. 28:31–37.) Locusts would consume their seed, worms would devour their vineyards, the olives would drop off their olive trees, their sons and daughters would go into captivity, the cricket would take over all the trees and produce of their land, the stranger in their midst would rise above them, the stranger would be their creditor, and the stranger would be the head and they the tail. (Deut. 28:38–44.)

Thirst (painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau)

Because they would not serve God in joy over abundance, they would have to serve in hunger and thirst, naked and lacking everything, the enemies whom God would let loose against them. (Deut. 28:47–48.) God would bring against them a ruthless nation from afar, whose language they would not understand, to devour their cattle and produce of their soil and to shut them up in their towns until every mighty wall in which they trusted had come down. (Deut. 28:49–52.) And when they were shut up under siege, they would eat the flesh of their sons and daughters. (Deut. 28:52–57.) God would inflict extraordinary plagues and diseases on them until they would have a scant few left, for as God once delighted in making them prosperous and many, so would God delight in causing them to perish and diminish. (Deut. 28:58–63.) God would scatter them among all the peoples from one end of the earth to the other, but even among those nations they would find no place to rest. (Deut. 28:64–65.) In the morning they would say, “If only it were evening!” and in the evening they would say, “If only it were morning!” (Deut. 28:67.) God would send them back to Egypt in galleys and they would offer themselves for sale as slaves, but none would buy. (Deut. 28:68.)

[edit] Exhortation to obedience

Moses reminded the Israelites that they had seen all that God did to Pharaoh and Egypt, yet they did not yet understand. (Deut. 29:1–3.) Moses led them through the wilderness 40 years, their clothes and sandals did not wear out, and they survived without bread to eat and wine to drink so that they might know that the Lord was their God. (Deut. 29:4–5.) They defeated King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan, took their land, and gave it to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. (Deut. 29:6–7.) Therefore Moses urged them to observe faithfully all the commandments, that they might succeed in all that they undertook. (Deut. 29:8.)

[edit] In classical rabbinic interpretation

[edit] Deuteronomy chapter 26

Tractate Bikkurim in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Jerusalem Talmud interpreted the laws of the first fruits in Exodus 23:19, Numbers 18:13, and Deuteronomy 12:17–18 and 26:1–11. (Mishnah Bikkurim 1:1–3:12; Tosefta Bikkurim 1:1–2:16; Jerusalem Talmud Bikkurim.)

The Mishnah taught that to set aside first fruits, a landowner would go down into the field, see a fruit that ripened, tie a reed-rope around it, and say, “These are first fruits.” But Rabbi Simeon said that even if the landowner did this, the landowner still had to designate the fruits as first fruits again after they had been picked. (Mishnah Bikkurim 3:1.)

Fruit Basket (painting by Balthasar van der Ast)

The inhabitants of the district assembled in a city of the district and spent the night in the town square. Early in the morning, their leader said: “Let us rise and go up to Zion, to the house of the Lord our God.” (Mishnah Bikkurim 3:2.) Those who lived near Jerusalem brought fresh figs and grapes, and those who lived far away brought dried figs and raisins. Leading the pilgrimage procession was an ox with horns overlaid with gold wearing a crown of olive branches. The sounds of the flute announced the pilgrims’ coming until they neared Jerusalem, when they sent messengers ahead and arranged their first fruits for presentation. A delegation of the Temple’s leaders and treasurers came out to meet them, varying in relation to the procession. Jerusalem’s artisans would stand and greet them, saying: “People of such and such a place, we welcome you.” (Mishnah Bikkurim 3:3.) They played the flute until they reached the Temple Mount. On the Temple Mount, even King Agrippa would carry the basket of first fruits on his shoulder and walk to the Temple Court. As the procession approached the Temple Court, Levites would sing the words of Psalm 30:2: “I will extol You, O Lord, for You have raised me up, and have not suffered my enemies to rejoice over me.” (Mishnah Bikkurim 3:4.)

The pilgrims offered turtledoves that had been tied to the basket as burnt offerings. And they gave what they held in their hands to the priests. (Mishnah Bikkurim 3:5.) While the pilgrims still held the basket on their shoulders, they would recite Deuteronomy 26:3-10. Rabbi Judah said that they read only through Deuteronomy 26:5, “A wandering Aramean was my father.” When they reached these words, the pilgrims took the baskets off their shoulders and held them by their edges. The priests would put their hands beneath the baskets and wave them while the pilgrims recited from “A wandering Aramean was my father” through the end of the passage. The pilgrims would then deposit their baskets by the side of the altar, bow, and leave. (Mishnah Bikkurim 3:6.)

Originally, all who knew how to recite would recite, while those unable to do so would repeat after the priest. But when the number of pilgrims declined, it was decided that all pilgrims would repeat the words after the priest. (Mishnah Bikkurim 3:7.)

The rich brought their first fruits in baskets overlaid with silver or gold, while the poor used wicker baskets. Pilgrims would give both the first fruits and the baskets to the priest. (Mishnah Bikkurim 3:8.)

Rabbi Simeon ben Nanos said that the pilgrims could decorate their first fruits with produce other than the seven species, but Rabbi Akiba said that they could decorate only with produce of the seven kinds. (Mishnah Bikkurim 3:9.) Rabbi Simeon taught that there were three elements to the first fruits: the first fruits themselves, the additions to the first fruits, and the ornamentations of the first fruits. The additions to the first fruits had to be like the first fruits, but the ornamental fruit could be of another kind. The additions to the first fruits could only be eaten in Levitical purity, and were exempt from the law of doubts as to tithing (demai), but the fruits used for ornamentations were subject to the law of doubts as to tithing. (Mishnah Bikkurim 3:10.)

[edit] Deuteronomy chapter 28

A midrash expounded on why Israel was, in the words of Jeremiah 11:16, like “a leafy olive tree.” In one explanation, the midrash taught that just as oil floats to the top even after it has been mixed with every kind of liquid, so Israel, as long as it performs the will of God, will be set on high by God, as it says in Deuteronomy 28:1. (Exodus Rabbah 36:1.)

The Mishnah taught that when they flogged a person, a reader would read Deuteronomy 28:58ff, beginning “If you will not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book . . . ,” then Deuteronomy 29:8, “Observe therefore the words of this covenant,” and then Psalms 78:38, “But He, being full of compassion, forgives iniquity.” (Mishnah Makkot 3:14; Babylonian Talmud Makkot 22b.)

[edit] Commandments

According to Maimonides and Sefer ha-Chinuch, there are 3 positive and 3 negative commandments in the parshah.

To make the declaration on bringing the first fruits (Deut. 26:5.)
To make the tithe declaration (Deut. 26:13.)
Not to eat the second tithe while unclean, even in Jerusalem, until it has been redeemed (Deut. 26:14.)
Not to eat the second tithe while mourning (Deut. 26:14.)
Not to spend redemption money of the second tithe for anything but food and drink (Deut. 26:14.)
To imitate God’s good and upright ways (Deut. 28:9.)

(Maimonides. Mishneh Torah, Positive Commandments 8, 131, 132; Negative Commandments 150, 151, 152. Cairo, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 1:11–12, 139–40; 2:141–43. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4. Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 5:414–31. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1988. ISBN 0-87306-497-6.)

Isaiah

[edit] Haftarah

The haftarah for the parshah is Isaiah 60:1–22. The haftarah is the sixth in the cycle of seven haftarot of consolation after Tisha B'Av, leading up to Rosh Hashanah.

[edit] Further reading

The parshah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:

Esarhaddon

[edit] Ancient

Vassal treaties of Esarhaddon

[edit] Biblical

Leviticus 26:3–38 (blessings and curses).
Joshua 24:2–13 (recited history of Israel).
2 Kings 6:25–30 (cannibalism).
Isaiah 9:19 (cannibalism).
Jeremiah 19:9 (parents eating children).
Ezekiel 5:10 (parents eating children); 6:5 (unburied carcasses).
Zechariah 11:9 (cannibalism).
Psalms 1:1–6 (blessings and curses).
Lamentations 4:10 (mothers eating children).
Nehemiah 9:5–37 (recited history of Israel).

Philo

[edit] Early nonrabbinic

The Temple Scroll 18–19. Dead Sea scroll 11QT=11Q19,20. Land of Israel, 2nd Century B.C.E. Reprinted in Géza Vermes. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, 190, 195. New York: Penguin Press, 1997. ISBN 0-7139-9131-3.
Philo. Allegorical Interpretation 3:11:36, 35:107; On the Posterity of Cain and His Exile 8:24, 24:84, 29:99; On the Unchangableness of God 34:156; Who Is the Heir of Divine Things? 3:10, 15:76, 51:250; On Flight and Finding 22:123; On Dreams, That They Are God-Sent 1:34:193; 2:40:263, 41:272; The Special Laws 2:34–36; On the Virtues 8:47, 21:106; On Rewards and Punishments 21:127, 22:131; Flaccus 20:167. Alexandria, Egypt, early 1st Century C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by Charles Duke Yonge, 54, 62, 134, 140–41, 171, 276, 282, 297, 332, 382, 407, 588–89, 644, 650, 676, 739. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1993. ISBN 0-943575-93-1.

Josephus

Josephus. The Wars of the Jews, 6:3:3–5. Circa 75 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by William Whiston, 737–38. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1987. ISBN 0-913573-86-8.
Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 4:8:18, 22, 31, 44. Circa 93–94. Reprinted in, e.g., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by William Whiston, 118–19, 121, 124. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1987. ISBN 0-913573-86-8.

[edit] Classical rabbinic

Mishnah Maasrot 1:1–5:8; Maaser Sheni 1:1–5:15; Bikkurim 1:1–3:12; Makkot 3:14. Land of Israel, circa 200 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-300-05022-4.
Sifre to Deuteronomy 297:1–303:11 Land of Israel, circa 250–350 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., Sifre to Deuteronomy: An Analytical Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 2:269–285. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987. ISBN 1-55540-145-7.

Talmud

Babylonian Talmud: Berakhot 5a, 6a, 15b, 24a, 35b, 40a–b, 56a, 57a, 63b; Shabbat 25a, 55b, 138b; Eruvin 55b; Pesachim 24a, 36a–b, 49b, 70b, 109a, 116a; Yoma 5b, 13b, 52b, 74b; Sukkah 40b, 46b, 47b; Beitzah 35b; Rosh Hashanah 12b, 15a; Taanit 2a, 3b, 8b–9b; Megillah 10b–11a, 16b, 20b, 24b, 25b; Moed Katan 15b; Chagigah 3a, 4b, 7a, 12b, 18b; Yevamot 63b, 73a–74b, 103a; Nedarim 22a, 36b, 41a, 84b; Sotah 17a, 32a–33b, 36a, 37a–38a, 39b, 47a, 48a, 49a; Gittin 47b, 56a, 57b–58a, 81a; Kiddushin 2b, 26a, 66b; Bava Kamma 32b, 82a, 116b; Bava Metzia 11a–b, 52b, 90a, 96a, 107a; Bava Batra 25b, 26b–27a, 81a–82a, 89a, 136b; Sanhedrin 7a, 11b, 28b, 39b, 44a; Makkot 7b, 13b, 16b–17b, 18b–19b, 22b, 24a; Shevuot 35a, 36a, 39a; Avodah Zarah 5b, 19b, 52b, 55a; Horayot 12a; Zevachim 16a, 50a, 54b, 60b, 61b, 99b, 101a; Menachot 35b, 61a–b, 82a, 84b, 103b; Chullin 16a, 18a, 89a, 120b–21a, 131a–b, 136a; Bekhorot 41a; Arakhin 11a; Temurah 3b, 10a, 21a; Keritot 11a; Niddah 51b. Babylonia, 6th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.

[edit] Medieval

Deuteronomy Rabbah 7:1–7. Land of Israel, 9th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Leviticus. Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
Rashi. Commentary. Deuteronomy 26–29. Troyes, France, late 11th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 5:267–302. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997. ISBN 0-89906-030-7.
Judah Halevi. Kuzari. 2:55; 3:11. Toledo, Spain, 1130–1140. Reprinted in, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel. Intro. by Henry Slonimsky, 116–17, 144, 148. New York: Schocken, 1964. ISBN 0-8052-0075-4.

Maimonides

Maimonides. Mishneh Torah, Intro.:26. Cairo, Egypt, 1170–1180.

[edit] Modern

Thomas Hobbes. Leviathan, 3:42. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson, 547–48. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0140431950.
Thomas Mann. Joseph and His Brothers. Translated by John E. Woods, 788. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4001-9. Originally published as Joseph und seine Brüder. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943.
Martin Buber. On the Bible: Eighteen studies, 80–92, 122–30. New York: Schocken Books, 1968.