Between Rebuke and Redemption

Parashat Ki Tavo, Deuteronomy 26:1–29:9
6th Haftarah of Comfort, Isaiah 60
Chaim Dauermann, Simchat Yisrael, West Haven, CT
 

The musician, author, and actor Henry Rollins once called August “the summer’s last messenger of misery.” Sometimes I think there’s nowhere where that is more true than New York City. While the summers here are uniformly hot and humid, by August things feel as if they’ve moved up by an order of magnitude. The heat seems to emanate not only from above, but from the city itself. In early summer, the subways can be a cool respite from the heat above ground, but by August, the reverse is true—no matter how hot it may be above ground, the subways are surely hotter. Months of residual heat transforms them into a veritable furnace. As August winds down each year and fall approaches, I try hard to remind myself that the relief of cooler weather is right around the corner. But when I’m sweating on a subway platform, waiting for my train, that relief can feel very far away, even unreachable. It’s hard to believe it’s coming.

Living in New York City—“the other Holy Land,” as my father would call it—I often think about the changing of the seasons in relation to the progression of the Jewish calendar, and for these past few weeks we have found ourselves amidst one of the most interesting times in the year. After Tisha B’Av—what’s thought of as the saddest day on the entire calendar—there ensue “seven weeks of consolation” (or comfort) with seven haftarot to match. In the northern hemisphere, these seven weeks lead us out from summer’s heat and into the cool of autumn. They take us from the torment of Tisha B’Av to the joy and hope of Rosh Hashanah, a day that not only celebrates the New Year, but is also associated through Jewish tradition with God’s kingship (malchiyot). 

As the last few parashiot of the year lead us through the final narrative in Deuteronomy, toward the eventual end of B’nei Yisrael’s wilderness wandering, the haftarot of comfort take us through uplifting passages from Isaiah that describe God’s ultimate fulfillment of his promises to Israel. This week’s parashah, Ki Tavo, contains one of the most bitter passages in all of Torah: Deuteronomy 28:15–68, a section which, along with a similar passage in Leviticus 26, is known as the tochechah (“the rebuke”). It is a litany of curses that will befall Israel should they not obey God’s commandments:

But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. (Deut ‭28:15–19‬)

The passage goes on to graphically describe profound deprivation, defeat at the hands of enemies, and, in the end, exile from the land that B’nei Yisrael will soon be entering. It’s a haunting passage, made all the more sobering by the fact that the Jewish people have, at times, suffered many pains that have appeared to echo these very curses. It seems fitting to be reading this passage soon after Tisha B’Av, when we read the book of Lamentations: “Judah has gone into exile because of affliction and hard servitude; she dwells now among the nations, but finds no resting place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress” (Lam ‭1:3‬)‬‬. When we read this book, we think of not just one exile, but many. We think of the first Temple destroyed. We think of the second Temple, also destroyed. We think of our people being scattered to the winds—rootless and wanting—time and again. 

The rebuke in Deuteronomy could not be more bleak. And yet, its counterpart haftarah is the opposite. If Deuteronomy 28 is suffering, the sixth haftarah of consolation, Isaiah 60, is ultimate relief. On the one hand, we have a description of Israel’s disobedience and its consequences; on the other, we have God’s unfathomable grace and faithfulness:

Foreigners shall build up your walls, 

and their kings shall minister to you; 

for in my wrath I struck you, 

but in my favor I have had mercy on you. . . .

Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, 

with no one passing through, 

I will make you majestic forever, 

a joy from age to age. 

You shall suck the milk of nations; 

you shall nurse at the breast of kings; 

and you shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior 

and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. (Isa ‭60:10‬, 15–16) ‬‬

These words come toward the end of a passage of Isaiah that deals intimately with malchiyot—the kingship of God on earth, the Messianic Kingdom, in which all that is broken will be made right, ushering in a time of peace and understanding.

Above, I describe a tension between two elements: the consequences of Israel’s disobedience, and the promise of God’s grace. Our readings this week create a space for us to sit within that tension and learn from the perspective that it affords us. It is quite easy—although also painful—to look at the tochechah of Deuteronomy and understand it as a tangible reality, for the Tanakh goes on to record the application of those very curses upon the Jewish people. We can look at all of these things and believe God. (Truly, what easier path is there to fearing God than seeing him follow through on a threat?) And yet, believing in God’s rebuke, and understanding the reality behind it, necessarily compels us to look further and look forward, for if we believe in God when it comes to his rebuke, surely we must also believe in his promises, even if those have not yet come to fruition.

Yeshua stands with us in this space within this tension, and in seeking him out here we can see these lessons all the more clearly, and from them draw strength. In the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24–25, Mark 13, and Luke 21) Yeshua anticipates the coming destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E., which was at the time of his speaking 40 years hence. We can see the accuracy of his words with the benefit of our future perspective. But then he moves on from this prediction of destruction to one of ultimate hope—his return, and a final redemption. Indeed, even as he describes the signs of his coming, he recalls imagery from Isaiah 60:19–20 when he tells his disciples, “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Matt‭ 24:29‬).‬‬

So, this Shabbat, when we look at the tochechah of Deuteronomy 28, and the consolation of Isaiah 60, let us be strengthened by the one who stands at our side: Yeshua, the embodiment of God’s faithfulness to us. Rav Sha’ul, in his letter to the Galatians, speaks of how Yeshua redeemed us from the very curses of Deuteronomy 28 “by becoming cursed on our behalf” (Gal 3:13 CJB). And it is in Yeshua that our hope for the future lies, and in whom the promises of God will be fulfilled. “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev‬ ‭21:4‬).

Scripture references, unless otherwise noted, are from the English Standard Version.