Deuteronomy - Cycle One - 2601-2908 - Ki Thavo

In Ki Thavo we are told to walk the path of God, to feel it, to see it, to hear our footsteps on it.

And in Torah we start to walk the path. But not right away. Despite all the suffering, the fear, we have to wait. We have to wait until Ki Thavo when we are entering the Promised Land. As Moses says…Your eyes saw the great miracles, signs and wonders. But until this day, God did not give you a heart to know, eyes to see and ears to hear. We are reminded that as we escaped from Egypt, or the captivity of darkness, our clothes did not tatter and our shoes did not wear thin. Then, God embraced every detail. Now, with the gifts of open heart, open eyes, ready ears, we are to change our own clothes, fix our own shoes. We will care for ourselves. It’s as if we’ve graduated consciousness 101. Awareness will not only bring us closer to the divine, but shield us from wear and tear; from the pain on the path.

Think about it. This idea is huge. God is telling us that the more we open our hearts , the less our pain will hurt. Usually, to dodge pain, we shut down, put on blinders, inside or out. Usually, when in pain (and as we see in Chukath and Korach) we obsess with it, refuse to listen, cause ourselves and others great suffering. What is it this moment in Ki Thavo that gives us permission to recognize darkness and instead of clinging to it, to use it to create light? What is it that finally allows us to mold our curses, blessings, famine, war, conflict, fears and desperation into the mantle of teshuvah? Why now?

The answer is simple. Look at the curses in Ki Thavo, those echos from BaChuko‐thai. These final curses not only enable teshuvah but set it in motion. We live the words. We breathe them. We live the horror of the curses together, side by side, the living next to the dead next to the future lives. No soul can feel he has been cursed more, blamed more, nor off the path more. No soul can judge another as unworthy of turning. We are each made equal as the absolute witness of our own actions. And what about the blessings? The blessings are as distant as the curses in that they are known through words and possibility. And there is so much possibility ! As Isaiah says…God will be your everlasting Light, and your God your glory. Given the distance mentioned above we can achieve humility and equanimity. And given equanimity we can achieve forgiveness. Once more from Isaiah …though I smote you in my anger, I will have mercy on you. So, these blessings and curses are like the unlived chapter of a life, the silent epiphany, the experience that has not happened, the non‐experience that must be made real in some way, must be added to the incomplete to achieve the ultimate, must bring us to the absolute edge of pain and joy, to the final consummation of being. These curses are not meant to be taken literally. Rather, they give us the power to return as one to the shining light. This way, one man’s curse is another man’s curse. One man’s blessing is another man’s blessing. One man’s turning creates the energy for more to turn. Each curse and blessing is a gift in the greater gift of Torah. They propel us beyond words or experience to the radiance of divine consciousness, to the center of all creation.

So, may we turn and turn some more. May we walk the path of God. May we see and listen. May we know that the more we open our hearts, the safer we become. May we have compassion. May we do the work of teshuvah as one and as many. May we dance beyond all curse and blessing into the sweet heart of creation, into the finest laughter and light, into the one breath of God.