The primary messages of Judaism echo back and forth, reinforcing each other throughout the year. This Shabbat will mark ten days before the beginning of the New Year, the first day of Tishrei, Rosh Hashanah. The meanings of the High Holy Days are many, among them that change and growth are always possible, if we wish to; that God waits for us to turn toward the Divine and cultivate our relationship with God; that forgiveness and reconciliation remain possible as long as we are alive; and that life itself is a gift from God.
Just about six months ago we celebrated Pesach, our annual commemoration of God’s gift of human freedom and the beginning of the beginning of the history of the Jewish people as a people, rather than just a family. We are the inheritors of that freedom and that history.
This week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo, links the High Holy Days and Pesach, for at the start of the portion we read, the formula that Israelites recited when they brought the first yields of their harvest (bikkurim) to the Priest, “My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation. The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us. We cried to Adonai, the God of our ancestors, and Adonai heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and our oppression. Adonai freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents, bringing us to this place and giving us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Wherefore I now bring the first fruits of the soil which You, Adonai, have given me.” You shall leave it before your God and bow low before your God.”
We recite these same words every year at our Pesach seder; it is the essence of the Exodus story in just a few words. It encapsulates the Jewish people’s relationship with God, God’s role in history, and God’s commitment to freedom. For without freedom, the possibilities of the High Holy Days are not possible. God wants us to be free, so that we can exercise our conscious choice to be the best people we can. Pesach is about freedom and collective redemption. The High Holy Days are about choice, change, and individual redemption. Who do you want to become in this New Year?
Ki Tavo, Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8; Parashat HaShavua for Shabbat, September 21, 2024
September 20, 2024 by tbhrich • Drashot
The primary messages of Judaism echo back and forth, reinforcing each other throughout the year. This Shabbat will mark ten days before the beginning of the New Year, the first day of Tishrei, Rosh Hashanah. The meanings of the High Holy Days are many, among them that change and growth are always possible, if we wish to; that God waits for us to turn toward the Divine and cultivate our relationship with God; that forgiveness and reconciliation remain possible as long as we are alive; and that life itself is a gift from God.
Just about six months ago we celebrated Pesach, our annual commemoration of God’s gift of human freedom and the beginning of the beginning of the history of the Jewish people as a people, rather than just a family. We are the inheritors of that freedom and that history.
This week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo, links the High Holy Days and Pesach, for at the start of the portion we read, the formula that Israelites recited when they brought the first yields of their harvest (bikkurim) to the Priest, “My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation. The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us. We cried to Adonai, the God of our ancestors, and Adonai heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and our oppression. Adonai freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents, bringing us to this place and giving us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Wherefore I now bring the first fruits of the soil which You, Adonai, have given me.” You shall leave it before your God and bow low before your God.”
We recite these same words every year at our Pesach seder; it is the essence of the Exodus story in just a few words. It encapsulates the Jewish people’s relationship with God, God’s role in history, and God’s commitment to freedom. For without freedom, the possibilities of the High Holy Days are not possible. God wants us to be free, so that we can exercise our conscious choice to be the best people we can. Pesach is about freedom and collective redemption. The High Holy Days are about choice, change, and individual redemption. Who do you want to become in this New Year?