Summary Ki Tavo
The first three paragraphs of Ki Tavo present us with three crucial attitudes, which we need to have if we are to be loyal Jews. The first two involve specific mitzvot, commandments; the third is more general.

In the first paragraph, the Israelite farmer is commanded to bring a selection of his first fruits to the Kohein at the central place of worship (in earlier days the Tabernacle; in later days, the Temple). There he would declare that he had come to the Land which

G-d had promised his forefathers. He would then relate the story of the descent to Egypt, the terrible slavery, the cries to G-d for help, and the subsequent redemption.

Why should someone who was born many years after the Exodus recite this passage as if he had just arrived in the Land of Israel?

In the second paragraph, the farmer is commanded to tithe his produce in the third (and sixth) year and make sure that all the tithes have been given to the Levi, the proselyte, the orphan and the widow. He was to declare that he had given all these tithes, and at the end of the declaration, he would ask the Almighty to look down from his Heavenly Abode and bless the People and the Land of Israel.

It is most unusual to have a mitzvah whereby one declares that one has fulfilled a mitzvah! What makes this one different, and why with this one does one invoke a Heavenly blessing!

In the third paragraph, we are told: today G-d commands you to keep the laws .... today you should walk in His ways.... today G-d declares you to be a treasured nation, greater than any other...

Q. Only today? Even in the context of the Torah, the Sinai Covenant was already nearly 40 years old!
One answer suffices for all the above questions: Judaism demands a freshness of approach. In the words of Rashi, "that all mitzvot should seem new to you every day." And so the farmer, who is only in the Land of Israel because G-d redeemed his ancestors should feel that he himself was redeemed! And with such an attitude, he should be generous to the Levite, Proselyte, Orphan and Widow! And if he feels this way and he is generous to others, then he has the right to invoke G-d's Heavenly Blessing.

This now sets the tone for the rest of the Sedra. In a special ceremony to mark their entry into the Land of Israel, the Israelites were told that their existence in the Land was conditional on their adherence to Torah and Mitzvot. Keeping the mitzvot would result in abundant blessings, while straying from the path would result in many disasters, leading to exile and persecution.

Moreover, we are told to observe the mitzvot in joy. How do we do that? Refer back to the mitzvah of first fruits, tithes and the following paragraph!

On a serious note, we can adopt the posture of an ostrich, or look back candidly at Jewish history and admit that everything predicted in this sedra has come true.

On a positive note, the Haftarah, the sixth of the seven haftarot of comfort, opens with the words: "Kumi Ori...arise, ... for Hashem's light will shine on you... It speaks of a bright future for us in the Land of Israel".

May this too be fulfilled, speedily in our days.

Shabbat Shalom