REFLECTIONS ON PARSHAT PARSHAT KI TAVO – IN SEVENTY LANGUAGES

בס”ד

Integrating Torah into one’s life through reflection and conversation can be an incredibly fun and engaging experience. It’s a journey of discovery, where ancient wisdom and timeless teachings come to life in our daily experiences. Through reflection, we have the opportunity to dive deep into the rich tapestry of Torah, extracting profound insights and lessons that resonate with our modern lives. The joy lies in the ‘aha’ moments, those instances when a Torah verse or story suddenly connects with our personal challenges, aspirations, and values. And when we engage in conversations about Torah with others, it becomes an interactive exploration, where diverse perspectives and interpretations enhance our understanding. These dialogues often spark excitement and intellectual curiosity, making the learning process both enjoyable and fulfilling. Torah becomes a vibrant and dynamic part of our lives, offering not just guidance but also a source of endless fascination, connection, and growth.

NOTE: Don’t feel obligated to go through every source or answer all the questions—unless you want to. Even one source, or one question will give you plenty of material for discussion and meditation. Enjoy this!

Some thoughts about Parshat Ki Tavo

“You shall write upon the stones all the words of this Torah, explained very clearly.” (Deuteronomy 27:8)

As Israel prepared to cross the Jordan and enter the Land, Moses gave an unusual command. Great stones were to be erected, covered with plaster, and inscribed with the words of the Torah. An altar was to be built from whole stones, offerings brought upon it, and Israel was to rejoice before G-d.

This was not something to be done someday, after the country had been conquered and life had settled down. Moses commanded that it take place upon Israel’s entrance into the Land. And when Joshua eventually led Israel across the Jordan, he treated the command accordingly. With the conquest still in its earliest stages, after the battles of Jericho and Ai, Joshua went to Mount Ebal and carried out what Moses had commanded. Before Israel had secured its new national existence, it stopped to establish what that national existence was supposed to mean.

There is an extraordinary detail in Moses’ instructions. The Torah was to be written “explained very clearly.” Rashi, following the Sages, explains this to mean “in seventy languages.” The seventy languages represent the nations of humanity.

Why would one of Israel’s first great monuments in its own land be written so that the nations could understand it?

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch z”l sees the entire ceremony as a statement about the kind of nation Israel is called upon to become. The uncut stones, the prohibition against using iron upon the altar, the offerings, the rejoicing, and the Torah written upon the stones together express a vision of national life in which right takes the place of force. Human spiritual and moral nobility can develop freely; material life can be enjoyed wholesomely; and the life of a nation can become an ascent toward G-d.

The timing makes that message especially powerful. Israel was entering the world of national power. It would have land, cities, wealth, courts, political authority, and an army. Indeed, Joshua erected the monument while military conquest was still underway. Yet Israel’s first principles were not to be determined by its ability to conquer. Power itself was to submit to something higher.

The monument therefore spoke in two directions. It spoke inwardly to Israel: You are entering this land under the authority of G-d’s Torah. Your national strength is not your ultimate source of greatness, and possession of the land is not an end in itself. Israel’s task is to build a society governed by Divine law.

But the monument also spoke outward. Its message was deliberately made intelligible in the languages of humanity.

This does not mean that the nations were commanded in Israel’s 613 commandments. Israel and the nations have distinct covenantal responsibilities; the nations are obligated in the Seven Noahide Laws. But the distinction between their commandments does not mean that G-d’s Torah has nothing to say to the rest of mankind. At the very beginning of Israel’s national life in its land, G-d’s teaching was placed where, according to the Sages, the nations could encounter and understand it.

That matters to everyone.

The world envisioned by the Torah is not one in which Israel knows G-d while the nations remain morally directionless. The Noahide Laws themselves establish a universal order under G-d: human life is sacred, property must be respected, justice must be established, sexual boundaries matter, cruelty is restrained, and humanity must recognize the One who created it. Israel’s particular covenant exists within that larger Divine purpose for mankind.

Joshua could have postponed the monument. There were battles to fight and a country still to secure. Instead, he fulfilled Moses’ command as soon as possible. Before allowing military success to define what Israel’s presence in the Land meant, he erected the stones that declared its purpose, in seventy languages.

These stones proclaimed that there is something greater than power. Nations, no less than individuals, are accountable to G-d. Justice must govern strength rather than strength determining justice. Human prosperity is meant to coexist with moral elevation. And although Israel has been entrusted with a unique covenant and mission, what G-d intends to accomplish through that mission ultimately matters to all humanity.

Nearly every civilization erects monuments to what it considers great. Some commemorate rulers, victories, wealth, or military power. At the entrance to Israel’s national life, Moses commanded a different kind of monument: one bearing the words of G-d’s Torah, made intelligible to the world.

Now, reflect on the following questions:

Why do you think Moses commanded Israel to erect this monument immediately upon entering the Land rather than after the conquest was complete?
What is the significance of Rabbi Hirsch’s contrast between force and right at the beginning of Israel’s national life?
Why would the Sages emphasize that the Torah was written in the seventy languages of humanity if Israel and the nations have different commandments?
Where do you see societies allowing power to determine what is “right,” rather than requiring power to submit to justice?
If you were to erect a monument expressing the principles by which you intend to live, what would be written upon it?

Shabbat Shalom

By Rabbi Tani Burton

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