WRJ Voices: Ki Tavo

This week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo, begins with a vision of the Israelites entering the Promised Land, settling down, and tilling the soil. It envisions bountiful crops, a part of which is to be given as an offering of thanks for the peaceful, prosperous life G-d has granted in this new land of “milk and honey.” The people are commanded to share with those who cannot produce their own sustenance, whether due to their vocation, as in the Levites, or their circumstances, such as strangers, widows, and children.

Here we find the famous passage that begins “My father was a fugitive Aramean.” We are to always remember from whence we came and extend compassion to those who now stand in a similar situation. The portion shows us a clear and joyful picture of how idyllic life can be if we express our gratitude and take care of our fellow human beings.

This section is followed by numerous and concise instructions, related by Moses, about how the Israelites are to behave when establishing their new community. The long litany of wonderful blessings and truly dire curses that follows leaves no doubt as to what will happen to those who obey the commandments versus those who do not.

Ki Tavo can prove a challenge to interpret because it is easy to get caught up in the horrific curses that the people are threatened with if they do not follow the word of G-d. As women, we feel the graphic passages to be beyond comprehension when they describe parents (including nursing mothers) who are so desperate that they actually eat their young We may turn away rather than contemplate them.

But, in Torah, as in life, we can choose to be immobilized by the horrors we read about, see, and imagine, or we can take note of the warnings and move forward, doing the best we can to follow the commandments that help us to bring about blessings rather than curses.

Rabbi Steven W. Engel teaches us to look at this list of blessings and curses with an eye towards the manner in which they are created. He states, “When you look at them more closely you’ll notice that the curses are given by our actions toward others, while the blessings are given by the things we create.”

He further explains his interpretation that the curses are not things that “happen to us” but are “a result of the harmful things we do to others.” Conversely, blessings are not “given to us,” they are created by us when we act graciously towards each other and to the living things that share our planet.

When I chose this portion, I was thinking about the directives to help support those in need, and to remember our history in order to see ourselves in others who are currently less fortunate. Those who know me know that I am passionate about social action and a big believer in using our skills to bring about positive change. We stand at a point in time where we can easily feel overwhelmed and ineffective. Our WRJ leadership understands this well and has created many tools to help us “produce blessings” rather than be cursed by the harm presently being done to so many. In addition to the WRJ Women Act resources found at www.wrj.org, we are working to fulfill your demand for Advocacy Speakers who can educate your group and help you create successful programming on this topic.  We also have a unique opportunity to bring our minds and souls together to work for social good at our first ever Social Justice Conference on May 18-19, 2019, in Washington, D.C. Many of our women’s groups are working on their budgets and calendars this summer. I hope that your group is remembering to set aside a portion of your funds and your time to support social good through WRJ and to send your leaders that are interested in Advocacy to our conference in the spring.

Ki Tavo tells us that we not only have a choice about the kind of world we want to live in, but we have a responsibility to work towards that goal, with gratitude for the gifts we can help produce along the way. I look forward to joining you in Washington as we create blessings together.

Madi Hoesten has been an active member of Congregation Kol Tikvah Sisterhood in Parkland, FL since moving to Florida in 1999. She has been on her sisterhood and her temple board in some capacity since joining the sisterhood. After serving on the Southeast District Board as an Area Director, Vice President of Marketing and Communication, 1st Vice President, and then President, she is currently the Immediate Past President of her district.  Madi is also a member of the North American Board of Women of Reform Judaism and is the Vice President of Affiliate Services.