Today, at the start of a new day, I engage with the words of our Torah. It is the Parashah Ki Tavo that will be read publicly for everyone this coming Shabbat…
Ki Tavo translates roughly to „When you come,“ and it begins with sentences that speak to me personally and touch me deeply…
It is the opening sentence of the Mishneh Torah (Deuteronomy/Devarim):
„And it shall come to pass, when you come into the land that the Eternal your God gives you as a possession, and you take possession of it and dwell therein…“
It is important to understand that this refers not merely to a state of consciousness, but also to the actual Land of Israel.
It is also crucial to grasp and recognize that it is the Eternal Himself who gives this land and entrusts it to us as a possession. God is the Owner, and we are His stewards. He entrusts the land to us, and we are called upon and obligated to treat it accordingly and to shape our own conduct so that we prove worthy of it.
I ask myself: what does it mean, „and you dwell therein“?!!
Our consciousness must find rest and establish a state of harmony with the Creator—much like settling into a home where one feels at ease, making it the center and starting point for all of a Jew’s activities.
We must acknowledge that the Book of Deuteronomy (Sefer Devarim) is a retrospective account. This means that these words—promising the land—were first addressed to the Jewish people a very, very long time ago. Right there in Chapter 26, verse 2, there is mention of the first fruits of the soil that each individual (note the use of the singular „you“) brings in from „your land.“
The land as a state of consciousness given by the Eternal. The land as a state of consciousness that is brought forth.
I do not wish to expose myself further by discussing the subsequent words in a public forum; yet it is significant that we are instructed to speak to the priest: „Today I declare to the Eternal, your…“ „…to the land that the Eternal swore to our fathers He would give us.“
It is important to understand that this refers to „our fathers“—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—and, at the same time, to all the generations of Jews who came before us, whose legacy we uphold and to whom we are accountable.
God gives the land to US—not to individuals, groups, or privileged elites.
Shavua Tov!
