Shabbat Parshat Ki Tavo

The parasha includes the Tochacha. This is the second Tochacha in the Torah, the first being in parashat Bechukotai. Looking at the context of the one in Bechukotai will allow us to compare and contrast the Tochacha in our parasha – and lead to a better understanding of what it is all about and the meaning we can take away from it today.
The Tochacha in parashat Bechukotai comes as a culmination of the brit – covenant – entered into by Hashem and the Jewish people. We are given the Torah with the expectation that we will keep it. The list of bad things that will happen to us is a statement that we should treat our covenant seriously or else. [In relatively modern times, we have unearthed evidence of britot entered into in ancient times where this type of structure was the normal way of arranging things where – after laying out what the agreement was – the two parties would end saying,’ and if you don’t follow through, then all of these bad things should happen to you . . . ‘]. Viewing the Tochacha as the culimation of the brit at Sinai allows us to understand better some other psukim in Sefer Vayikra.
Vayikra open with ‘Vayikra Hashem el Moshe’ – And Hashem called to Moshe. The word Vayikra ends with an ‘aleph zuta’ – a small aleph. Rashi notes that the language of calling to Moshe is a call for T'midut – consistency – in the service of Hashem. The small aleph is emphasizing the need for this consistency; if you take the aleph away, you are left with Vayiker which implies inconsistent, happenstance service. The Tochacha in Bechukotai emphasizes the result of our following Hashem bkeri. This then highlights the connection from our receiving Hashem’s Word in the Sinai desert to Hashem calling upon us (as demonstrated with Moshe) to serve him consistently to the result of our not serving him in this way being described in the Tochacha.
Another portion of Sefer Vayikra becomes clearer when looked at in this light. Parashat Behar opens with the laws of Shmita, emphasizing that these were given at Sinai. Rashi and the other commentaries deal with the question why is Sinai mentioned here – we had finished our discussion of Sinai back in Sefer Shemot? But in the context of our structure above, Behar is emphasizing the connection between Sinai and the Tochacha – that the Sinai brit was entered into on the condition of our consistency. What was given at Sinai is very much relevant in Sefer Vayikra as we look to close it out with the Tochacah.
[Rav Granatstein commented that he read Goetz’s A History of the Jews when he was a teenager and he remembered there was a line that impacted on him very much. Goetz commented that if you look at the detail in the Tochacha, every single thing mentioned had happened to the Jewish people in the course of our history.]
Looking at the Tochacha in our parasha, we don’t have the same type of context, but there is a context nonetheless. The parasha is describing Moshe’s telling the people what they will do when they enter the land. 6 tribes will go up Har Eyval, 6 on Har Grizim, and the kohanim will be in between them. Moshe then describes a list of 11 ‘arurs’ – or curses – that will be said in some sort of communal fashion and follows with the parasha of the tochacha. The tochacha parasha itself begins with a list of blessings we will receive if we follow God’s Word and then list of bad things that will happen to us if we do not. [Refer to the verses inside for the exact detail]. Later in Sefer Yehoshua (8:33), we have the fulfillment of the first part of this detail – with Yehoshua splitting the tribes, leaving the kohanim in the middle.
The commentaries disagree how exactly the 11 curses were said. In describing the process, Moshe says (v 12-13) that the tribes on Har Grizim will be standing to bless the people and the tribes on Har Eyval will be standing to curse. What exactly comprised this blessing that Moshe refers to is at the heart of the debate. Rashi, citing the Gemara in Sotah 42a, explains that for each curse listed, a two-part responsive form was said. Taking the first curse as an example – one who makes an idol in secret – the leviim would turn to one mountain (with six tribes on it) and say, ‘blessed is the one who does not make an idol in secret,’ and all the tribes would answer ‘Amen.’ They would then turn to the other mountain and say, ‘cursed is the one who makes an idol in secret,’ and all the tribes would answer ‘Amen.’ And this process was repeated for all eleven of the curses. Targum (Yonatan ben Uziel) modifies this slightly, saying the dual blessing and curse for each statement was done only for the first and last of the curses. But for the remaining curses, they were simply stated as is.
Ibn Ezra cites the explanation of the Gemara Sotah and then says that the pshat (not like the Gemara) is as follows: the blessing being referred to doesn’t refer at all to the 11 curses that are listed. Rather, it’s the blessings (28:1-14) that immediately precede the punishments of the tochacha. And the curse that’s referred to are the punishments of the tochacha – the opposites of the blessings that are referred to.
The Ibn Ezra (27:15) then explains why these 11 curses were said in the first place, that they can be done ‘b’seter’ – or in secret. [Refer to the Ibn Ezra where he details how each one is secretive and not public]. Rav Granatstein portrayed this as the people – now entering a new covenant with Hashem – admitting that they have no control over what people do in private. All they can do is publicly state that anyone who transgresses should be cursed. The blessings and punishments that follow are within the realm of what they can control in public life – to make sure all are following the Torah. This idea is echoed in the next week’s parasha – Parashat Nitzavim – where the verse states that the hidden things are for God alone and the revealed or public ones are for us. There is another difference between the tochacha here and the one in Sefer Vayikra – ours is written in the singular form, directed to individuals. What we have here is each individual accepting responsibility for the community as a whole. This sense of responsibility for community and its adherence to Torah is something we must all be aware of and work toward.