Likrat Shabbat 9/4/2020 Ki Tavo'

(1) When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you as a heritage, and you possess it and settle in it, (2) you shall take some of every first fruit of the soil, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is giving you, put it in a basket and go to the place where the LORD your God will choose to establish His name. (3) You shall go to the priest in charge at that time and say to him, “I acknowledge this day before the LORD your God that I have entered the land that the LORD swore to our fathers to assign us.” (4) The priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down in front of the altar of the LORD your God. (5) You shall then recite as follows before the LORD your God: “My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation. (6) The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us. (7) We cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and our oppression.

(17) You have affirmed this day that the LORD is your God, that you will walk in His ways, that you will observe His laws and commandments and rules, and that you will obey Him. (18) And the LORD has affirmed this day that you are, as He promised you, His treasured people who shall observe all His commandments,

(1) The following may be recited in any language:the section concerning the sotah, the confession made at the presentation of tithes, the shema, the prayer (the amidah), the grace after meals, the oath concerning testimony, the oath concerning a deposit.

(2) The following are recited in the holy tongue (Hebrew):The reading made at the offering of the firstfruits, The recitation at halitzah, The blessings and curses, The priestly blessing, The blessing of the high priest, The section of the king, The section of the calf whose neck is broken, And the priest anointed [to accompany the army] in battle when he speaks to the people.

(3) How is it that the declaration made [at the bringing] of the first-fruits [must be in Hebrew]? [It is said], “And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 26:5), and elsewhere it is said, “And the Levites shall answer and say” (Deuteronomy 27:14); just as the “answer” made elsewhere must be in the holy tongue, so must the [declaration discussed here] be in the holy tongue.

(5) How were the blessings and curses [pronounced]?When Israel crossed the Jordan and came to Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal which are by Samaria, in the vicinity of Shechem which is near the terebinths of Moreh, as it is said, “Are they not the other side of the Jordan, [beyond the west road that is in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the Arabah near Gilgal, by the terebinths of Moreh] (Deut. 11:30), and elsewhere it says, “And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem unto the terebinth of Moreh” (Genesis 12:6) just as the terebinth of Moreh mentioned in this latter verse is Shechem, so the terebinth of Moreh mentioned in the former verse is Shechem. Six tribes went up Mt. Gerizim and six tribes went up Mt. Ebal, and the priests and Levites with the ark stood below in the middle, the priests surrounding the ark, the Levites [surrounding] the priests, and all Israel on this side and that side, as it is said, “And all Israel, with their elders, officials, and judges stood on both sides of the ark, facing the levitical priests” (Joshua 8:33). They turned their faces towards Mt. Gerizim and opened with the blessing: Blessed be anyone who does not make a graven or molten image”. And these and these respond amen. They then turned their faces towards Mt. Ebal and opened with the curse: “Cursed be anyone who makes a graven or molten image” (Deut. 27:15). And these and these respond amen. [So they continue] until they complete the blessings and curses. After that they brought the stones, built the altar and plastered it with plaster, and inscribed upon it all the words of the Torah in seventy languages, as it is said, “most distinctly (be’er hetev). Then they took the stones and went and spent the night in their place.

(14) The Levites shall then proclaim in a loud voice to all the people of Israel:

(15) Cursed be anyone who makes a sculptured or molten image, abhorred by the LORD, a craftsman’s handiwork, and sets it up in secret.—And all the people shall respond, Amen.

(16) Cursed be he who insults his father or mother.—And all the people shall say, Amen.

(17) Cursed be he who moves his fellow countryman’s landmark.—And all the people shall say, Amen.

(18) Cursed be he who misdirects a blind person on his way.—And all the people shall say, Amen.

(19) Cursed be he who subverts the rights of the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.—And all the people shall say, Amen.

(20) Cursed be he who lies with his father’s wife, for he has removed his father’s garment.—And all the people shall say, Amen.

(21) Cursed be he who lies with any beast.—And all the people shall say, Amen.

(22) Cursed be he who lies with his sister, whether daughter of his father or of his mother.—And all the people shall say, Amen.
(23) Cursed be he who lies with his mother-in-law.—And all the people shall say, Amen.

(24) Cursed be he who strikes down his fellow countryman in secret.—And all the people shall say, Amen.

(25) Cursed be he who accepts a bribe in the case of the murder of an innocent person.—And all the people shall say, Amen.

(26) Cursed be he who will not uphold the terms of this Teaching and observe them.—And all the people shall say, Amen.