Parshat Ki Tavo
PARSHA OVERVIEW
When the Jewish Peopledwell in the Land of Israel, its first fruits are to be taken to the Temple and given to the kohen. This is done in a ceremony that expresses recognition that it is
On the last day of Pesach of the fourth and seventh years of the seven-year shemitta cycle, a person must recite a disclosure stating that he has indeed distributed the tithes to the appropriate people in the prescribed manner. With this mitzvah Moshe concludes the commandments that Hashem has told him to give to the Jewish People. Moshe exhorts them to walk in Hashem’s ways because they are set aside as a treasured people to Him.
When the Jewish Peoplecross the Jordan River they are to make a new commitment to the Torah. Huge stones are to be erected and the Torah is to be written on them in the world's seventy primary languages, after which they are to be covered over with a thin layer of plaster. Half the tribes are to stand on Mount Gerizim, and half on Mount Eval, and the levi'im will stand in a valley between the two mountains. The levi'im will recite twelve commandments, and all the people will answer "amen" to the blessings and the curses. Moshe then details the blessings that will be bestowed upon the Jewish People, blessings that are both physical and spiritual. However, if the Jewish People do not keep the Torah, Moshe details a chilling picture of destruction, resulting in exile and wandering among the nations.
PARSHA INSIGHTS
The Power of Prayer
“Hashem will confirm you for Himself as a holy people…” (28:06)
This is a true story whose facts have been verified independently. Just two weeks ago, during the last week of bein hazmanim.
Eagle Pass on the Tex-Mex border, a woman farmer is gazing toward the sky, fighting back tears. There has been no rain for almost six months. Not a drop.
She owns some pecan orchards. If it doesn’t rain now, the orchards will die. She will go bankrupt and she and her family will find themselves on the road.
Suddenly, a bus pulls up next to the parched orchard, and some fifty yeshiva students from the Tri-State area pile out of the bus. The farmer looks at them. Who are these strange-looking young men? She has never seen anyone with a baseball cap and longish sideburns before.
She goes over to the leader of the group and says to him, “You are Jewish, right?” “Yes,” he says. “I know the Jewish people have a special connection to
Moved by her plea and thinking it would be an interesting experience for the boys, the leader of the group gathered them into a circle to sing from the Book of Psalms (Tehillim), “I will lift my eyes…” — three times. The leader then made a short prayer in English, asking Hashem for rain to help the farmer, along with everyone else who needed rain. She thanked them for their prayers. The group got back into the bus and continued their trip.
That evening, the leader of the group received a text from the farmer. It said, “It rained for about an hour. This hasn’t happened in four or five months. I feel so loved by
How great are our prayers! It’s too easy to think, ‘What can I do? What is the power of my actions? What's the power of my prayers? What’s the power of my mitzvahs? Sure, in the world to come it's powerful – but in this world?”
It's just so very hard to feel that what we do makes a difference. And that our actions make all the difference! The reason why our trials are so hard in today's world is because there's so much concealment of Hashem’s presence. That's why it can be challenging for someone to pray and it might be trying to make enough effort to connect to the Source.
These young yeshiva students were just regular American boys. But, in a sense, they tore up the world. They tore up the Heavens. They helped reverse a harsh Divine decree!
We all have this power. Even if our sincere thoughts are minimal, even when we just say the words, just “phoning it in,” as some call it. Nevertheless, each one of us, however small we may think we are; has enormous power! Believe it! Use it!
Hashem loves and cherishes our every action.
