Parsha for Kids: Ki Tavo 2023
I did it. Exhausted, but I did it. My husband also remained awake to be my proofreader/ editor (always his role) and make it happen.
Below is the transcript for this week’s episode of Parsha for Kids, Ki Tavo 2023.
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Season 5 Episode 7:
Hello! My name is Chana and this is Parsha for Kids. The parsha of the week is Ki Savo, or Ki Tavo, which means “when you come.” In context, it is talking about when the Israelites would come into the land of Israel, taking possession of it and settling it.
There are certain mitzvot that Bnei Yisrael are only obligated to do in the land of Israel and not in any other country. One of these is called Bikkurim. Bikkurim is the law of the first fruits. Each member of Bnei Yisrael, with the exception of the Leviim, had their own portion of land. They would plant crops in these fields. Bnei Yisrael were then obligated to check their fields and bring the first fruits from the seven species for which Eretz Yisrael is known- wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates.
When an Israelite goes out to his field and notices that any of these fruits has begun to ripen, he ties a string around that fruit to mark it as Bikkurim. When the different fruits have fully ripened, he assembles them together in order to bring them to the Mishkan or Beit Hamikdash. If the fruits will rot before he successfully makes the journey, he preserves them (for example, drying the figs or making the grapes into raisins).
The fruits need to be brought up to Yerushalayim, Jerusalem, in a container. It was best for each species to have its own container, but they could be placed together if needed.
The Midrash notes that Bnei Yisrael are referred to elsewhere as “the first of God’s crop,” a term of endearment, and therefore they as the first of God’s crop would bring the first fruits up as a way of thanking God for the bounty with which He had blessed them.
It was considered meritorious to adorn the basket in which the fruits were brought. Sometimes the procession itself consisted of beautified animals. For example, an ox, which might later be brought up as a Korban Shelamim, would walk in front, its horns covered with gold and a wreath of olive leaves decorating its head. Musicians would play as the procession of Israelites bearing their fruits wound their way to God’s holy Temple.
Each person would personally present his basket to the kohen, priest. The kohen would place his hands beneath the owner’s hands and together they would perform a waving ceremony called a tenufa.
Upon offering the fruit, each Israelite had to recite a passage. Now, take a moment to consider. What would you expect this passage to be about? Probably about thanking God for his bounty and dfor blessing your crops! But in fact, that is NOT what we say. Instead, we speak about Lavan, the Aramean and how he planned to destroy Yaakov our forefather. We also recall how Yaakov went down to Egypt, and his family became the great nation of Israel, who was enslaved by Pharaoh. We cried out to God, who rescued us from Egypt and brought us to the land of Israel, a land flowing with milk and honey, and now I have brought the first fruit to God.
Why this passage? This is a formula to ensure Bnei Yisrael always remembers their roots- where they began, the struggles they overcame, and how they have endured no matter the hardships- both spiritual and physical. Every single member of Bnei Yisrael becomes a historian. Rashi explains that Lavan tried to destroy Yaakov’s commitment to his religion, a spiritual destruction. Pharaoh tried to destroy Bnei Yisrael on a physical level by killing them out or trying to reduce their numbers. Neither one prevailed. God was stronger than both and look- Bnei Yisrael has ended up on top, because we successfully settled the land and are now in such a position of power that we can even afford to bring God a gift of the fruit we grew within that land.
There is contemporary research that shows that the narrative we tell ourselves about our own lives and how they are structured matters a lot. When we look at our life as consistently moving forward and helping us to grow, that is a better perspective than dwelling on hardships and misfortunes. The lesson we can learn from Bikkurim is how important it is to be grateful to God, but also how important it is to remind ourselves about where we began and how we got to where we are today. Remembering the difficulties and challenges can provide us with a sense of pride, recognizing how much we have overcome, and also give us confidence that we will be able to continue to overcome challenges in the future.
TRANSITION
Moshe taught Bnei Yisrael about different items and gifts they had to separate out from the crops that they grew. Bnei Yisrael were required to set aside teruma, a gift for the kohanim. They also needed to give maaser rishon, the first tithe which each member of Bnei Yisrael gave to a Levi. Bnei Yisrael also gave maaser sheini, the second tithe which each individual Israelite ate in Jerusalem. During the third and sixth year of each seven year cycle, called shemita, Israelites gave maaser ani, the tithe for the poor, instead of maaser sheni.
After each three year cycle, every Jew had to declare that he had performed these separations properly. This was called the vidui maaser and it was recited by each Jew on the last day of Pesach in the fourth and seventh year of every seven year Shemitah cycle.
Once again, all of these different gifts and separations force each Jew to think about people beyond themselves. They must remember the importance of caring for and giving to the Kohen, to the Levi, the poor, and also taking time to thank God for what they themselves receive. Furthermore, requiring Israelites to eat some of the bounty in Jerusalem meant that one would enjoy their food as a part of the greater community. By building these gifts and tithes into everyday life, God was making sure that Bnei Yisrael would never become a totally self-centered nation, only thinking about their own personal gain rather than the welfare of others. Instead, it was important to strike a balance- acknowledging and appreciating the people who helped you, such as the Kohen and Levi, those who were less fortunate than you, such as the Ani or poor person, and finally thinking about your own relationship with your community and God.
TRANSITION
Moshe declared
הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֗ה יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ מְצַוְּךָ֧ לַֽעֲשׂ֛וֹת אֶת־הַֽחֻקִּ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה וְאֶת־הַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֑ים וְשָֽׁמַרְתָּ֤ וְעָשִׂ֨יתָ֙ אוֹתָ֔ם בְּכָל־לְבָֽבְךָ֖ וּבְכָל־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ:
This day, the Lord, your God, is commanding you to fulfill these statutes and ordinances, and you will observe and fulfill them with all your heart and with all your soul.
Rashi comments to the phrase “Hayom Hazeh” - this day. Why does it matter that God commanded us to follow the Torah on that particular day? Rashi explains that we are obligated to consider the mitzvot and commandments as if they were brand new every day. When God originally came to Bnei Yisrael at Har Sinai and gave them the gift of the Torah, they felt awe and fear but also excitement. God was providing them with a foolproof way of how to connect to Him and how to have a relationship with Him. Who wouldn’t be excited?
That’s how we are meant to feel about the mitzvot. If we long to have a relationship with our Creator, the one who gave us life and who gave us all the good things that we have, then we will be thrilled to realize that He has provided us with a roadmap of exactly how to go about doing that. And if we wake up each morning feeling like today was the day that we got that, we will be so happy and excited to perform the mitzvot.
As an example, imagine that you have a best friend. You want to show her how much you care about her because she has made you feel seen and special and you appreciate her. One day, you discover a piece of paper on which she has written down all of the things that make her feel happy. You learn that she likes banana chocolate chip cake. She enjoys blowing bubbles. She likes long walks. You now have the exact plan of how you can make her upcoming birthday perfect- because you know exactly what she likes. You will feel so excited about that- and that’s exactly what God did for us.
TRANSITION
Moshe spoke to Bnei Yisrael about a future day, when Yehoshua would lead them across the Jordan river to enter Eretz Yisrael. This miracle would be similar to the splitting of the sea by the Yam Suf. Bnei Yisrael would need to pause as they crossed the Jordan and select twelve large stones from the now dry waterbed. They would need to bring these twelve stones to Har Aival and make them into an altar, upon which they would offer sacrifices. The Torah would need to be inscribed in seventy languages on the altar’s stones. At a later point, the altar would then be taken apart and the stones would be brought to Gilgal, where they would be established permanently.
These stones would serve as a permanent reminder about how Bnei Yisrael had miraculously crossed the Jordan river on dry land. It also reminded everyone about the supremacy of Torah and how important the Torah was to each Jew.
Moshe also taught about the commandment to pronounce blessings and curses facing Mt Gerizim and Mt Aival. These two mountains were in the neighborhood of Shechem. Six tribes would need to stand on Mt Gerizim- Shimon, Levi, Yehuda, Yissachar, Yosef and Binyamin. Six more would stand on Mt Aival- Reuven, Gad, ASher, Zevulun, Dan and Naftali. The aron, kohanim and the elders of the Leviyim would need to remain in the valley between the two mountains, the Kohanim forming a circle around the Aron and the Leviyim forming a circle around the Kohanim.
The Elders of the Leviim would face Mt Gerizim and pronounce a blessing for the tribes, and the tribes on both mountains would say Amen. The Elders of the Leviim would then face Har Aival and proclaim the first curse and the tribes would once again say Amen. They would continue to alternate like this.
Why was this process necessary?
God wanted to make sure that Bnei Yisrael would not forget their obligations and the Brit, covenant, that they had made. This ceremony would remind them of this. These two mountains would therefore serve as eternal witnesses reminding Bnei Yisrael of their commitment to keep the Torah in Eretz Yisrael.
The blessings that were given during this ceremony were powerful- focusing on how Bnei Yisrael would have success, their children and animals would be well, and their crops would grow. Enemies would flee and we would be God’s holy nation, respected by the other nations. We would also have wealth and prosperity.
However, the curses were terrifying. There would be curses that would cause our business dealings to fail, our crops not to grow, our children to get sick and our animals to die. There would not be peace. We would experience plagues, skin diseases, droughts (which means there’s not enough water so the land doesn’t prosper) and defeat in battle. Eventually, we will even be exiled from the land of Israel.
These punishments would befall us because we did not serve God with joy. The Midrash explains that if we do not want to serve God, then we will end up being subjugated and serving the gentile nations. If we don’t want to give money to God’s Temple, we will have to pay it to the enemy government. If we don’t want to serve God with joy when all is good for us, then we will end up having to call upon Him and serve Him because we are starving and hungry.
As you can imagine, hearing these blessings and curses would serve as a very powerful experience, similar to Matan Torah at Har Sinai. They would force members of Bnei Yisrael to reflect on their lives and whether they had been living well, and hopefully help them recalibrate and choose to make better choices if necessary.
One of the things that becomes very clear is that God understood how important symbols and experiences were. Having an altar and later a monument made out of the twelve stones that we took from the Jordan River would help us always remember that experience. Having to attend the ceremony of the blessings and curses would help us to remember Har Sinai. Nowadays, many people who teach about Judaism use a method called experiential education. It focuses on helping people experience their Judaism through, for example, traveling the land of Israel or actually looking at artifacts or replicas from the land, rather than only accessing Judaism through books. God was the first Being to use experiential education, way before it was popular.
TRANSITION
Moshe concludes the parsha by reminding Bnei Yisrael that we should keep the Torah, the words of the Brit, covenant, in order to succeed in everything we would do. It’s important to recognize that it might not always be obvious to us in the moment that we are succeeding because everyone goes through hard times in life. But often, after living through those hard times, it will become clear why you needed to experience them, and you will recognize that God really was with you even when you were going through struggles. A wonderful book that explores the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s thought on exactly this idea is called ‘Positivity Bias’by Rabbi Mendel Kalmenson- I recommend learning it one day!
TRANSITION
So here’s what we learned this week:
Much of what God obligates us to do is healthy for us and our mindset. For example, Bikkurim reminds us of how we came to be, how far we have come and everything that we have overcome. Later in the parsha, experiencing the blessings and curses at Mt Gerizim and Mt Aival enable us to take stock of our own lives and recalibrate if necessary. God is the master of using experiential education to help us connect to Him.
God also designed the mitzvot to help us see beyond ourselves. Humans can often be self-centered but many of the mitzvot in this week’s parsha force us to look at others and care about them, too, making us better people in the process.
At the end of the day, keeping the Torah means living a life that helps us grow. While we may not always recognize that in the moment, ultimately, Moshe assures us that it is true. We should consider the Torah to be new, like a gift we received and are so excited about, every single day of our lives.
If you have any questions or comments on this week’s episode, please email me at parsha4kids@gmail.com. That’s parsha the number 4 kids at gmail.com. Good Shabbos