I know that it is crazy and yes, we, teachers, were students too. I had my moments in school just like the rest of our students. I made poor choices, struggled academically at times and shared in those memories that have stayed with me ever since. Yet, there were not many moments in my undergraduate career where I was blown away by the topics I was learning and the ideas that I was being introduced to. Not many barring one.
In פרשת כי תבוא, Parshat Ki Tavo, משה, Moshe, changes gears from reviewing the journey that was and turns his attention to the journey that will be. He explores the transformation of a lost people aimlessly wandering in the desert to the nation of the Jewish people fulfilling their covenantal aspirations of ארץ כנען, the Land of Canaan. We are introduced to the מצוות, the commandments, of ביכורים, the giving of the first fruits and מעשר, tithes, both gifts of the land that are given to the כהנים, the priests, as financial sustenance. Moshe instructs the people that when we enter ארץ ישראל, the Land of Israel, there will be unique requirements for us to follow.
On the surface, that tracks. We had specific ritual experiences that took place in Egypt, at the receiving of the Torah and throughout the journey in the desert. We are now preparing for a new land and with it comes its own set of rituals. So far so good.
The פסוקים, the phrases, in the Torah focus our attention in a bit of a different direction. Entering the land is not the prerequisite for these new religious expressions. It is only once we conquer, distribute, settle and establish the בית המקדש, the Jewish epicenter at the Temple, do these rules come into play. Why? What added contribution does settling the land and establishing it as a Jewish center for serving Hashem bring to the acts of giving gifts of the land to the priests? Not as simple as we first thought.
In my second to last year of Yeshiva University, I was in a Tanach class (Torah, Prophets and Writings - the three works that make up the totality of the Jewish Bible) when I was shocked to hear that each one of the major חגים, Jewish holidays, are connected to a different agricultural season and expression of gratitude to Hashem. As my professor went through source after source, I began to yearn for the days when I learnt in the Old City overlooking the הר הבית, the Temple mount, engrossed in Torah learning in the land of our forefathers and foremothers. My professor asked us to write a paper on the intersection of the holidays and the agricultural dynamics of the Land of Israel.
I enjoyed the task and found myself back in this week’s Torah reading staring at the following words (Devarim 26:3-11):
וּבָאתָ֙ אֶל־הַכֹּהֵ֔ן … וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֵלָ֗יו הִגַּ֤דְתִּי הַיּוֹם֙ לַיהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ כִּי־בָ֙אתִי֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר נִשְׁבַּ֧ע יְהֹוָ֛ה לַאֲבֹתֵ֖ינוּ לָ֥תֶת לָֽנוּ׃ וְלָקַ֧ח הַכֹּהֵ֛ן הַטֶּ֖נֶא מִיָּדֶ֑ךָ וְהִ֨נִּיח֔וֹ לִפְנֵ֕י מִזְבַּ֖ח יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃
When you come to the priest and you shall say to him ‘I say before you Hashem that when we come to the land that you have promised to give to our fathers,’ the priest takes the first fruits and places them before the altar.
וְעָנִ֨יתָ וְאָמַרְתָּ֜ לִפְנֵ֣י ׀ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ אֲרַמִּי֙ אֹבֵ֣ד אָבִ֔י וַיֵּ֣רֶד מִצְרַ֔יְמָה וַיָּ֥גׇר שָׁ֖ם בִּמְתֵ֣י מְעָ֑ט וַֽיְהִי־שָׁ֕ם לְג֥וֹי גָּד֖וֹל עָצ֥וּם וָרָֽב׃ וַיָּרֵ֧עוּ אֹתָ֛נוּ הַמִּצְרִ֖ים וַיְעַנּ֑וּנוּ וַיִּתְּנ֥וּ עָלֵ֖ינוּ עֲבֹדָ֥ה קָשָֽׁה׃ וַנִּצְעַ֕ק אֶל־יְהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֣י אֲבֹתֵ֑ינוּ וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע יְהֹוָה֙ אֶת־קֹלֵ֔נוּ וַיַּ֧רְא אֶת־עׇנְיֵ֛נוּ וְאֶת־עֲמָלֵ֖נוּ וְאֶֽת־לַחֲצֵֽנוּ׃
You should answer and say before Hashem that ‘My ancestors were wandering Arameans. They went down to Egypt when they were few in number and they made a great name for themselves and multiplied. Egypt tortured us and made us slaves. We cried out to Hashem and he heard our voices, he saw our hardship and our pain.
וַיּוֹצִאֵ֤נוּ יְהֹוָה֙ מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם בְּיָ֤ד חֲזָקָה֙ וּבִזְרֹ֣עַ נְטוּיָ֔ה וּבְמֹרָ֖א גָּדֹ֑ל וּבְאֹת֖וֹת וּבְמֹפְתִֽים׃ וַיְבִאֵ֖נוּ אֶל־הַמָּק֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה וַיִּתֶּן־לָ֙נוּ֙ אֶת־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֔את אֶ֛רֶץ זָבַ֥ת חָלָ֖ב וּדְבָֽשׁ׃
You, Hashem, took us out of Egypt with strength and wonders. You brought us to this place and You gave us this land that is flowing with milk and honey.
וְעַתָּ֗ה הִנֵּ֤ה הֵבֵ֙אתִי֙ אֶת־רֵאשִׁית֙ פְּרִ֣י הָאֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־נָתַ֥תָּה לִּ֖י יְהֹוָ֑ה וְהִנַּחְתּ֗וֹ לִפְנֵי֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ וְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוִ֔יתָ לִפְנֵ֖י יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃ וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֣ בְכׇל־הַטּ֗וֹב אֲשֶׁ֧ר נָֽתַן־לְךָ֛ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ וּלְבֵיתֶ֑ךָ אַתָּה֙ וְהַלֵּוִ֔י וְהַגֵּ֖ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּקִרְבֶּֽךָ
And now we bring our first fruits that You, Hashem, have given us and we place it before You and pray to you. We are enthralled by all the good You have given us all of our people among us.
I read these words over and over again as the message slowly seeped into my heart and soul. The message of a Jewish land is not the promise of prosperity and opportunity. The message of a Jewish land is that in and of itself it perpetuates the covenantal bond that exists between Hashem and the Jewish people first established upon the exodus from Egypt and invigorated through the fulfillment of the promise made to אברהם יצחק ויעקב, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, years earlier.
Hashem provided us with a land to lean into our Judaism, to live fulfilled Jewish experiences through the land and the rituals surrounding it. While Israel remains our eternal connection to Hashem, we have been given the opportunity to live as Jewish people, to study Torah and to impart the moral and ethical standards to our children since the moment our people’s journey began in the middle of the night on the 14th of Nissan thousands of years ago.
The future of our children and the promise of Jewish grandchildren is no longer a given. It is our commitment to and support of our Jewish educational and communal institutions that will allow us to continue to provide the ability for our children to connect with Hashem, to understand the text that binds us and to explore the many ways that they can bring their Jewish light into the world. As Moshe recounts, Hashem, through His wonders, created a land flowing with milk and honey, steeped in the beauty of the Torah described as a source of happiness to all.
This Monday and Tuesday, September 19th-20th, is our chance to step forward and share in the vision that Hashem had for our Jewish children. Your contributions provide RMBA with the ability to nurture another soul, a star amongst the heavens, who has the capacity to shine so bright that it changes the world. Hashem heard our calls in Egypt. We ask that the calls are heard once more. Please join me as we support the Jewish future and beyond.