|
Top 10 Conversation Starters: Parashat Ki Tetze
By Dr. Steven Lorch
#10 - The source of the main text of the Haggadah on Pesach is a prayer in this parashah which is recited when one brings first fruits to the Temple in Jerusalem. It is not taken from the actual story of the Exodus in sefer Sh'mot. Why?
#9 - The text of the prayer of the first fruits begins "ארמי אובד אבי (D'varim 26, 5). The commentaries take two very different approaches to understanding these three words: Rashi writes that it means "An Aramean (Lavan) wanted to destroy my father (Ya'akov). Rashbam writes that it means "My father (Avraham) was a wandering Aramean." Which understanding comes closer to the plain meaning of the Hebrew? Why did the other commentary reject that understanding? Which approach do you prefer? Why?
#8 - Not all first fruits need to be brought to Jerusalem and eaten there. Only the seven species of fruit for which Eretz Yisrael is known are brought: wheat, barley, figs, grapes, pomegranate, olives, and dates. Why aren't other first fruits brought? Shouldn't we express gratitude for all the food we have?
#7 - When someone brings first fruits, s/he recites a prayer that thanks God for being good to us. It traces the fruits that the person is about to eat back to our having been slaves in Egypt, praying for God to save us, and God miraculously taking us out of Egypt and giving us the Eretz Yisrael. Why is the story of the Exodus relevant to a prayer of thanksgiving for first fruits?
#6 - Once every three years, the cycle of giving tithes (one-tenth of one's produce) is completed. It is a mitzvah to give two tithes (20% of one's crops) each year, one to the levi'im and the other to the poor in some years or, in other years, to be brought to Jerusalem and eaten there. Is it better to be commanded to give tzedakah and then give it, or would it have been better if it had been voluntary, and people would get credit for giving it voluntarily?
#5 - At the end of the three-year cycle of giving tithes, the head of the household declares that he gave all the required tithes. The rabbis call the statement a "confession (vidui)," but the actual text of the declaration says "לא עברתי ממצוותיך ולא שכחתי - I have not violated any of your commandments and I have not forgotten" (26, 13). Why is this called a confession?
#4 - If the declaration about the tithes says לא עברתי ממצוותיך (I have not violated any of your commandments), why does it also have to say ולא שכחתי (and I haven't forgotten)? Isn't it obvious that someone who obeyed and didn't violate the commandments also didn't forget?
#3 - The kohanim and levi'im are told to proclaim blessings on those who keep God's commandments, and curses on those who violate them. However, only the curses are written in this parashah. Why are the blessings left out?
#2 - During the ceremony of blessings and curses, six tribes stand on Mount G'rizim and the other six stand on Mount Eival. The kohanim and levi'im stand in the valley in between, turn and face Mount G'rizim and proclaim the blessing, and then turn toward Mount Eival and proclaim the curse. What does this ceremony symbolize?
#1 - Moshe commands the people that, on the day they cross the Jordan River and enter Eretz Yisrael, they should inscribe all the words of the Torah on large stones and display them on Mount Eival. Mount Eival is the mountain on which the curses are recited; Mount G'rizim is the mountain on which the blessings are recited. Why were the stones with the words of the Torah placed on Mount Eival and not Mount G'rizim? Why not on both, or in the valley between them?
| 
