Ki Tavo

September 3, 2020
14 Elul 5780

Parashat Ki Tavo
Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:8

Dear Friends,

In this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo (when you enter in), Moses instructs the Israelites regarding the first fruit offering. Moses then lists the blessings the people will enjoy if they keep the commandments, and the punishments they will suffer for disobeying them. The punishments are so dire that they are read in an undertone. All of this is in preparation for entering the land without Moses.

Life goes on
In the face of destruction
Life goes on
In the face of cruelty
life goes on…

Our will to prevail
to continue
to keep going
sustains us
Finding partners
friends
colleagues
allies

Yet fear and hate corrode
leaving us empty
with nowhere to go

Like a cornered animal
lashing out
showing its fangs
dangerous to all who approachLeaving behind
an abyss
cruelty flowing like lava
devouring us with fear
These are the curses foretold
These are t

he curses that confound us
when we lose our way
when we sit cowering in a corner
fearing those who are not us

This is the path to destruction
total annihilation of our humanity

All we have is today
This moment
to make it right
to get on the path
the curses are real
destruction is possible
it is up to us
It is always up to us…
To chase away the darkness
With all our might
And welcome the light once more

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Linda Shriner-Cahn