PARASHAT KI TAVO
And you shall rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given you and your house — you, and the Levite, and the stranger(?) that is among you.”
(Devarim/Deuteronomy 26:11)
The Levites were Temple servants but also local religious leaders who created ritual opportunities for Jews who already lived a pretty spiritual life of farming and closeness to the Land of Israel. But they needed a way to show gratitude and share their harvests with the religious servant class and the poor. The First Fruits Offering was created, and the ritual included a recitation of our People’s history in a nutshell.
Jewish life is not just a religious life; it’s a way of life – a full life. Culture is larger than religion. The Jewish culture of respect and love for life and each other, the rich and poor alike, the pursuit of justice and dignifying all God’s creation is wrapped into our rituals as much as those values stand alone in our system of ethics.
In our parsha, the Torah commands us to share our bounties with our immediate family, the “stranger” and the more ritualistic leaders who we called the Levites back then (think modern day rabbis, cantors and Jewish teachers whom the Jewish community supports).
I put a question mark in the verse above. Who are these “strangers?” That English word is not the best one to use for translating verse 11. The “sojourner” would be better – the beloved souls who have connected themselves to the Jewish People who are our partners, friends and soulmates. The people we love whom we have brought into the Jewish family and wrap themselves into our history are also part of the Jewish story according to the Torah.
“Our Shared History”
Jews, fellow travelers through the desert and all those religious leaders who inherited the land God promised Abraham and Sarah would give a portion of their harvests away annually, as thanks and in recognition of the wonder of creation. The beginning of Ki Tavo describes the ritual that one performed when bringing the fruit offerings.
The liturgy for the ritual is not a magical ask of God; it is, rather, a recognition of shared history and an expression of gratitude. In this way, Parshat Ki Tavo marks a turning point in the book of Deuteronomy. The children of Israel stood on the threshold of the land and received instructions for gratitude and linking into history, to take responsibility. The mitzvah of bringing the first fruits (bikkurim) to the Temple is described in loving detail, culminating in a verse that echoes through Jewish life:
“And you shall rejoice in all the good that Hashem your God has given you and your household – you, the Levite, and the sojourner among you.” (Devarim 26:11)
Let us consider two ways of reading this verse:
1. Rejoicing Through Awareness and Gratitude
One way to read “And you shall rejoice in all the good…” is as a call to see and appreciate the blessings we have. The Torah teaches us not only to fulfill mitzvot, but to do so joyously, with a sense of gratefulness. In bringing our first fruits, we enact a ritual that helps us recognize the sources of goodness in our lives — “all the good” which is often taken for granted.
This reading suggests that joy is not automatic, but arises from conscious gratitude. We give ourselves over to rituals that help amplify our joy. During those rituals we pause to acknowledge what is good in our lives, joy fills the space. The practice of bikkurim (first fruit offerings) is not only about the fruit, but about cultivating an attitude of gratitude for every blessing — big or small.
2. Rejoicing in Inclusivity and Generosity
A second way to understand this verse is through its inclusiveness. The verse commands us to rejoice with others — “you, the Levite, and the sojourner that is among you.” Our joy is incomplete unless it is shared. The Torah reminds us, at the peak of our celebration, not to forget those who do not own land, who may not have harvests — the Levite and the sojourner. Those who were not originally part of the story of the going out of Egypt, if they now sojourn with you, are wrapped into the history of the Jewish People through the declaration one makes at the first fruit offerings ritual.
The ceremony of bringing the bikkurim (First Fruits) is described in Deuteronomy 26:1–11. When the Israelites bring their first fruits to the Temple, they are commanded to recite a specific declaration, sometimes called the Mikra Bikkurim. Here is the central text, as found in Deuteronomy 26:3–10:
3 And you shall come to the priest who shall be in those days, and say to him:
“I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come to the Land which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.”
4 The priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God.
5 Then you shall speak and say before the LORD your God: “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; and there he became a great nation, mighty and numerous.
6 The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us, and imposed hard labor upon us.
7 Then we cried out to the LORD, the God of our ancestors, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.
8 The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs and wonders.
9 He brought us to this place and gave us this Land, a Land flowing with milk and honey.
10 And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruits of the soil which You, LORD, have given me.”
These verses are central to the Haggadah at Passover and these weeks before Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur we remind each other of both our shared history and our ethical responsibilities.
To come back to the parsha, we are encouraged to share our joy and fill our hearts with gratitude, as well.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Bolton