“When
you have come – ki tavo – into the land…” informs us that “living in
Israel land
of Yisrael
“And the priest shall take the
basket out of your hand and place it before the altar of YHVH your Elohim. And
you shall speak and say before YHVH your Elohim…” (26: 4). Now the Israelite is
bidden to recount before YHVH some of the history of his people (v. 5ff), which
of course highlights YHVH’s indispensable role, leading the said Israelite worshipper
to thanksgiving, as well as to enhancing his sense of oneness with his
ancestors and with the future generations. As we have seen many times before,
place, time and people all come together under the sovereign rule of YHVH.
However, this declaration: “And you shall place it before YHVH your Elohim, and bow
yourself before YHVH your Elohim” (26:2), along with the presentation of
the fruit in the basket, does not end this
particular activity. In 26:11 we read: “… and rejoice
in all the good which YHVH your Elohim has given to you, and to your house,
you, and the Levite, and the alien who is in your midst,” immediately leading
to: “When you have made an end of tithing all the tithes of your increase the
third year, the year of tithing, and have given it to the Levite, the alien,
the orphan, and the widow, that they may eat inside your gates, and be filled…”
(v.12). Thus the individual Israelite, who is responsible before his Elohim for
handing over the initial yield of his land, for thanking Elohim and rejoicing
before Him, is at the same time also to encompass the needy ones within his
gates, since rendering to them their dues is as good as “lending to YHVH”
Himself (ref. Prov.19:17).
Noticeably, the address made to the Israelites in chapter 26 is in
the second person singular, which constitutes, as noted before, a means to
emphasize the individual responsibility to be borne by each person. The
confession, however, that the Israelite worshipper is to make is in first
person plural, denoting the collective national identity in relationship to
YHVH. In verse 10 there is an immediate change, again to first person, as the
focus shifts back to the individual’s responsibility and relationship with his
Elohim. Verses 17-19 sum up the ‘transaction’ which will thus take place: “You
have today declared YHVH to be your Elohim, and to walk in His ways, and
to keep His statutes and His commands, and His judgments, and to pay attention
to His voice. And YHVH has declared you today to be His people, a
special treasure as He has spoken to you, and to keep all His commands. And He
will make you high above all nations that He has made, in praise, and in name,
and in glory; and that you may be a holy people to YHVH your Elohim, as He has
spoken” (italics added). The verb “declared” in both instances is “he’emir,”
of the root a.m.r (alef, mem, resh), meaning to “say, utter, declare, speak.”
However, because “he’emir” is an unusual conjugation, rather than the regular
“amar,” some translate it “elevate,” from the root word “a’mir,” which is “top
or summit” (for example, “uppermost branch” in Isaiah 17:6). The wilderness
journey had seen many incidents of rebellion, as Moshe states in Dvarim
(Deuteronomy) 9:24: “You have been rebels against YHVH from the day that I knew
you.” There, as in many of the other references to the Israelites’
rebelliousness, the word used is “ma’mrim,” of the root m.r.h. Thus, the sad
fact, stated in alliteration form in Tehilim (Psalms) 107:11: “They defied Elohim’s
words” – “himru ee’mrey El,” finds its ‘remedy’ in another alliteration -
“he’emiru” - that is in the action of “saying
and declaring” YHVH’s words, deeds and goodness toward His people.
The
rest of the Parasha is mostly devoted to the blessings and the curses. Even the
undertaking in the future, of writing the Torah on “large stones” after
crossing the Yarden and reading it to the people, is intended to illustrate
vividly the extant dichotomy of “blessings” and “curses,” as this event was to
take place between the “Mountain of Blessing” and the “Mountain of Curse.” And, as if to make sure that the people will
understand the simple equation of ‘obedience equals blessings - rebellion
equals curses,’ it says: “And you shall write on the stones all the words of
the law very plainly” (27:8). “Very plainly” is “ba’er heytev,”
and while we have already examined once the verb “ba’er” (and its connection to
“be’er,” “well”), here we encounter the additional “heytev,” of the root
“tov” - well, good, pleasant.” “Ba’er hey’tev,” then, is
plainly “do a good job of explaining and making the meaning clear and simple.”
Moving
now to the blessings versus the curses, we take a look at 28:1 (regarding the
blessings) and at verse 15 (the opening verse of the passage enumerating the
curses) and read the following commentary: “Particularly remarkable is the
difference between the emphatic double phrase of obedience used in the positive
passage: ‘If thou shalt diligently hearken (shamo’a tishma)’ and the
bare: ‘if thou shalt not hearken’ in the negative one. … Rashi, following
Talmudic exegesis interprets the idiomatic doubling of the verb in a
conditional sense: ‘And it shall be,’ im shamoa, ‘if thou shalt hearken,’
tishma, ‘then thou shalt continue to hearken.’ Though grammatically this
is not the implication of the verb doubling, it nevertheless expresses a deep
psychological truth that once man has started on the right path, his progress
becomes easier, gathering momentum with each fresh good deed. Maimonides also observed:
‘The more man is drawn after the paths of wisdom and justice, the more he longs
for them and desires them’”. [1]
The
blessings and the curses are set side by side in chapter 28, and are parallel
in content. But whereas it takes 14 verses to spell out the blessings, it takes
almost four times that to go through all the curses. It appears that both
blessings and curses are all-encompassing. Being blessed, one is blessed
everywhere one goes or happens to be, and likewise when one is cursed. The
blessings and the curses are therefore all-pervasive. The more the blessings
sound pleasant and appealing, the more horrendous and appalling are the curses,
and using some of the same words in both underscores this fact all the more.
The word fruit, for example, is used this way. In 28:4 and 11 we read:
“The fruit of your body shall be blessed, and the fruit of your
ground, and the fruit of your livestock, the offspring of your oxen, and
the young ones of your flock. (italics added).” “And YHVH shall prosper you in
goods, and in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your
livestock, and in the fruit of your ground in the land which YHVH swore
to your fathers to give it to you. (italics added).” In the next section we
read about a fierce nation, which “shall eat the fruit of your
livestock, and the fruit of your land, until you are destroyed” (v. 51, italics
added. In the English translation “increase” and “produce” replace “fruit”).
But what renders “fruit” and its usage much more macabre is verse 53: “And you
shall eat the fruit of your body, the flesh of your sons and your
daughters whom YHVH your Elohim has given to you… (italics added)”
Let us review several
other similar examples (where the same term, or root, is used in widely
differing contexts, highlighting the severity of the message). In 28:11 it says:
“And
YHVH will grant you plenty of goods…” (emphasis added), which is “ve’hotirchem”
from the root y.t.r -“that which surpasses”
and is therefore a “surplus.” But y.t.r. is also the root for “that
which remains.” And so in 28:54-55 the root y.t.r is employed once more,
though with a very different message: “The sensitive and very refined man among
you will be hostile toward his brother, toward the wife of his bosom, and
toward the rest – “yeter” - of his children whom he leaves
behind – “yotir” - so that he will not give any of them the flesh of
his children whom he will eat…” (emphasis added). These words, aside from
highlighting the horrid situation, especially as juxtaposed against the
blessings of y.t.r., also echo the same morbidity which characterized the
passage we just read above (having had to do with “fruitfulness”). “Avod” - “work, labor, worship,
serve” is another term which is used in this manner. “Because you did
not serve/worship YHVH your Elohim with joyfulness and with gladness of
heart for the abundance of all things, you shall serve your enemies whom
YHVH shall send on you, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in lack
of all things. And he shall put an iron yoke on your neck until he has
destroyed you” (vv. 47, 48 italics added). Verse 64 takes us even further: “And
YHVH shall scatter you among all people, from one end of the earth even to the
other, and you shall serve [of the root a.v.d again] other gods there,
wood and stone, which you have not known, nor your fathers” (italics added).
Becoming “a proverb and
a byword – ma’shal u’shneena - among all the peoples” (v. 37) is
another outcome of not heeding YHVH’s voice, as opposed to “all the peoples of
the earth shall see that you are called by the name of YHVH, and they shall
fear you” (v. 10). In Parashat Chayey Sarah (Gen. 23-25:18), we examined “ma’shal”
extensively. We found that one of the verbs for “to rule” – mashol – shares its
root (m.sh.l) with words such as “proverb, parable and example.” Thus, a ruler
who represents his higher authority, as he is meant to do in YHVH’s kingdom,
becomes a fit example of the latter. Here Yisrael is warned against
misrepresenting YHVH and becoming an object lesson exemplifying what happens to
those who betray trust. In Yoel (Joel) 2:17 the prophet laments: “And do not give
Your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule (“lim’shol”) over them.
Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their Elohim?'" The
second term used in the above “proverb and byword” - “sh’neena”
- stems from the root sh.n.n. (shin, noon, noon) and means to “sharpen
or to whet,” and by implication “repeat.” Thus, if Yisrael should
set a negative example, that fact will be told repeatedly, over and over and in
every place. However, if they obey the word, “vesheenantam… “teach
repeatedly” YHVH’s Word to their children (Deut. 6:7), not only will they not
become a “sh’neena” - “a byword”- among
the nations, rather they will be at the
“head” of all the nations (ref. 28:13).
The last phase of the
fulfillment of the curses is a scattering among the nations. This entails a
situation which will be totally unbearable, “and among these nations you shall
find no ease, nor shall the sole of your foot have rest – ma’no’ach…”
(v. 65). In Parashat No’ach we read: “The dove was sent to see if the water had abated
and, found no resting place – again ma’no’ach - for the sole of her foot….” (Gen.
8:8-9). But the suffering, anguish and dread only continue: “And your life shall hang in doubt before you, and you shall
fear day and night, and shall have no assurance of your life. In the morning
you shall say, Oh that it were evening! And in the evening you shall say, Oh
that it were morning! For the fear of your heart with which you fear, and for
the sight of your eyes which you shall see” (vv. 66, 67). Indeed, one Holocaust
survivor chose to name the book he wrote about his experiences, Oh That It Were
Evening. “Evening” as we noted several times already is “erev” of the
root e.r.v (ayin, resh, bet/vet), with its numerous derivations such as, mix,
pleasant, raven and guarantee (the end of the day, “erev,” is a guarantee of
the coming of the morning). The Guarantor
of the coming day, in the present case, can only be ‘mixed in’ (that is
involved) with those to whom He is pledging His guarantee. Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah)
chapter 30, for example, contains tremendous (and guaranteed) promises to
Yisrael. In verse 21 we read the following: “Their leader [“moshel” which we
just encountered above] shall be one of them and their ruler shall come forth
from their midst [remember Parashat Shoftim and the leader who was to be raised
from “among their brethren”?]. And I will bring him near and he shall approach
Me; For who would dare to risk his life to approach Me?”. “Dare to risk (his
life)” is once again from the same familiar e.r.v - “a’ra’v.” The answer to the
question is quite clear, as no one else but the Son could risk His life, as
indeed He has, by “sacrificing” (which is the same verb as “approach”) Himself!
Finally (in v. 68), “And
YHVH shall bring you into Egypt Egypt Egypt
Verses
1-9 of chapter 29, which form the epilogue of our Parasha, serve to remind the future
Israelites, once again, of the miracles that they had experienced in this
Egypt, which just a moment ago was presented before them as a potential place
of untold future sufferings. They are called to remember in the future the
extent of YHVH’s past goodness toward them and His great mercy, love and power;
a remembrance which will be essential for their conduct and wellbeing, hence
the exhortation: “Pay attention to the words of this covenant, and do them,
that you may act wisely in all that you do”! (29:9)
[1] New Studies in
Devarim, Nechama Leibowitz, trans. Aryeh Newman, Eliner Library, Department for
Torah Education and Culture in the Diaspora, Hemed books Inc., Brooklyn , N.Y.
