The Why, Where and When

In May 2011 my daughter, Judith Prays, suggested that we do some Torah study together. It was an exciting proposition for me. Undeterred by ...

50. Devarim - When you Come In (Ki Tavo)


“Today you have declared allegiance to God, making Him your God, and pledging to walk in His paths, keep His decrees, commandments and laws, and to obey His voice.” (26:17)
“God has similarly declared allegiance to you today, making you His special nation as He promised you.” (26:18)
On entering the Promised land we need to do the following:
* Offering of the first fruit has to be brought to the Temple (26:1 – 26:11)
* The third year tithe needs to be given: ”When you have finished taking all the   tithes of your grain for the third year, which is the special tithe year, you must give them to the Levite, and to the foreignerto, orphan and widow, so that they will eat their fill in your settlements.” (26:12)
* All offerings need to be kept ritually clean (26:14).
* We need to erect large stones on Mount Ebal and write on them all the words of this Torah and build a stone altar and not lift any iron to it. (27:2-27:5)
We will be cursed for the following transgressions:
* Idolatry
* Disrespect towards parents
* Moving neighbor’s boundary marker (disrespect for property rights)
* Misdirecting the blind
* Perverting justice for foreigner, orphan or widow
* Sex with father’s wife (disrespect for father’s privacy)
* Sex with an animal
* Sex with a sibling
* Sex with mother-in-law
* Killing a neighbor in secret
* Taking a bribe to put an innocent man to death
* Not upholding this entire Torah
If we safeguard the words of this covenantand keep them, we will be successful in all we do. (29:8)
And if not we will be cursed with most awful curses.