Parashat Ki Tavo
Torah: Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:8
Haftarah: Isaiah 60:1-22 (Sixth Haftarah of Consolation)
Elul 16, 5786 / August
28-29, 2026
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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom. We're continuing to read and discuss Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Book of Genesis. On August 31, we'll be at:
It is recommended that you also have with you a chumash with commentaries.
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SERVICES NOTE: Temple B'nai Hayim will not be holding Friday evening services this Shabbat. You are welcome to attend services in person at our sister congregation, Adat Ari El, at 7:00 pm, or streaming at: https://adatariel.livecontrol.tv/
Temple B'nai Hayim Shabbat morning services will begin as usual at 9:00 am in person and on Zoom.
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FULL OF JOY
"And you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has
given to you, and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the stranger that is
among you. When you have made an end of tithing all the tithes of your increase
the third year, the year of tithing, and have given it to the Levite, the
stranger, the orphan, and the widow, that they may eat within your gates, and
they will be filled." Deuteronomy 26:11-12
"Offering of the First Fruits" - Providence Lithograph Company
Rabbi Barukh Brofman: ‘This is a reference to Birkat Hamazon (Blessing
after the Meal) - "Do not let us need the gifts of flesh and blood".
For this we thank God. Specifically - "You shall rejoice in every
good thing - which the Lord has given you."’
Tiferet Shlomo: ‘The Torah adds "and they will be filled" to teach us
that one must give generously - otherwise there is no blessing in it.’
Most of us do not rely upon charity (tzedakah) - and we SHOULD be thankful for
that. But thanking God (through Birkat Hamazon) is an empty ritual if we do not
do what we can to help others be in a position of thanking God as well. As the
first verse implies, God has given every good thing to everyone - so it's up to
us that actually have those things to make sure that they are also distributed
to those that do not yet have them.
We learn on Yom Kippur in Unataneh Tokef that "tzedakah reduces
the severity of the decree". (See also Proverbs 10:2 and BT Baba
Batra 10a – “charity delivers from death”) It does not mean that our
charity saves us – rather, our tzedakah reduces the severe decree (i.e., hunger
and poverty) that might otherwise be suffered by others, the recipients of our
gifts.
Celebrate through giving - then you and they will be filled - with joy.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom, DD (HC)
Rabbi Emeritus, Temple B’nai
Hayim
Valley Village, CA
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