Parshat Ki Tavo

Heads we win, tails we lose

By Rabbi Avi Billet

Issue of Sept. 19, 2008

When my oldest child began to talk, she was two months shy of her second birthday. It occurred to me that I could develop a unique relationship with her through talking about the weekly parsha before she’d go to sleep. It was a hit –– so much so that when she woke up in the middle of the night, she sometimes cried “Abba, I wanna do parsha!” –– but more so because she really memorized the things we talked about.

When I’d ask her questions at the shabbat table, she wowed guests and hosts (when we were guests) with her trained answers to my questions.

I share this personal anecdote because in the way we learned Ki Tavo (the second parsha we ever studied), I had a difficult time trying to explain to a 22-month-old what a “tokhacha” is and why it takes up almost half of the parsha. So we simplified everything: “What happens if you’re good?” “You get a bracha!” “What happens if you’re bad?” “Tokhacha!” “You’re such a good little girl. What are you going to get?” “Bracha!”

In a sense we all feel this way. If we think about the words, we truly dread the tokhacha, and if we don’t think about them, we just want the guy reading to stop making mistakes, finish up and sit down.

But we cannot lose sight of what precedes the tokhacha. If you are attentive to G-d’s word and do His will, you will be a holy nation as you walk in His path. Nations of the world will see G-d’s name is upon you and they will fear Him (28:9-10).

The Chizkuni explains that the term “nations of the world will see” means “they will understand.” Some things cannot be seen and cannot be measured. But the message is that when the Jewish people do what they are supposed to be doing, nations of the world will take notice and will understand that the Jews are a special people, with a unique relationship to G-d and a unique mission in this world.

The bracha goes even deeper when we read a few more verses. In words we echo in one of our “Rosh Hashana ‘simanei milta’ expressions” we are told we “will be heads and not tails” if we listen to G-d. We will be on the top, not on the bottom (28:13).

While the commentaries branch in different directions to explain these incomplete metaphors, the message remains quite clear. The Jewish people have a mission on this earth, and that mission is to learn and teach and model the word of G-d, as it has been transmitted to us in the Torah. There can certainly be two ways about it, but only one way will lead the nations of the world to see/understand G-d’s role, and to thus fear Him.

G-d must be brought back into the equation at all times.

In the month of Elul we have a few reminders to this effect. There is daily shofar blowing, regular teshuvah shiurim, a hubbub in the supermarket for the coming holidays. We all know it’s coming. In what way do we commit to being better people, better Jews in the coming year? How do we plan to bring G-d back into the equation?

The first challenge is to study more, to learn more, to be more ambitious about finding out the things we don’t know about Judaism. Arranging a study partner for ourselves will force us to commit to a regular learning time.

Secondly we must do everything that is in our power to make sure we do not become tails. We must be heads who look to the future, who stand tall and proud, who give off an air and a confidence of what lies ahead in the future, of the greatness we hope to achieve and of the message we hope to impart to nations of the world who are truly to looking to discover what we are truly all about.

If we don’t, we are worthy of a tokhacha.

But if we do…

Avi Billet can be reached at avbillet@gmail.com