d’var torah
Blessing and Curse:
Reward and Punishment
BY RABBI TSURAH AUGUST at the elements of a ritual:
or hearing the Shema, our some of every first fruit of the of living in relationship with
Parshat Ki Tavo
It creates a safe “container” affirmation of Divine Oneness, soil, which you harvest from the the Divine One, the source,
for expressing thoughts and can stir the heart, soothe the land that the LORD your God is Adonai — with all creation,
n a weak voice that feelings.

mind and bring peace.

giving you, put it in a basket and with gratitude. The ritual
touched my soul, the
It provides a common focus
When the Viddui is go to the place where the LORD creates a communal focus,
weeping woman asked: for the participants.

incorporated into a ritual that your God will choose to establish memory and intention. Much
“Why am I being punished,
It connects the participants the family can participate in, His name” (Devarim 26 1-2).

as the Viddui ritual does at the
rabbi? I have been a good via a shared experience.

it becomes the center of a
What a moment! When you final moments of harvest of
person. Why am I cursed?
It engages body/mind/spirit. shared experience of sharing enter the land that the LORD our lives.

What did I do?”
The Viddui is the Jewish love and memories, through your God is giving you as a
As we enter the Land of
I, a student chaplain, stood end-of-life ritual, done when stories, songs, touch tears, heritage ...

5782, may we all find the
at her bedside, unable to death is imminent.

even laughter.

We have finally entered ways to nourish us, guide us
think of what I could say to
In its most basic form, it is a
I have found this ritual is the land! We have settled it. and inspire us to live a life
comfort her. I didn’t know prayer that can be recited by the a potent response to a dying We have harvested the first of blessing, generosity and
her, but I could feel her pain dying person, a rabbi or another person’s experience, increasing crops from our land. We must gratitude. l
and wanted to help. But what person. It invokes the ancestors, the sense of blessing and do something to mark this
could I possibly do to help affirms one’s gratitude for diminishing the fear of moment. And what we are
Rabbi Tsurah August is the
ameliorate her torment and having lived their life, asks for punishment. And it is a powerful asked to do is very simple, and
in-house chaplain for Jewish
not increase her suffering?
and offers forgiveness, asks for way of saying goodbye for the very difficult. These crops were
Family and Children’s Service
Fast-forward 20-plus years. lovingkindness for family — and family, leaving positive images hard-won — the history of our
of Greater Philadelphia,
I have heard this plea many ends with a recitation of the emblazoned on their minds, to lives, from slavery, through
providing spiritual and
times, from patients struggling Shema.

remember and comfort them exodus, to this moment, are
emotional support for people
with pain and fear of dying and
Simply chanted, it has as they mourn the loss of their in these fruits. And now we
facing challenges of loss and
not able to comprehend from great resonance because of beloved, knowing they have are commanded to take these
illness. The Board of Rabbis of
where their suffering has come. the language, especially if in shown their love and respect.

precious fruits and offer them,
Greater Philadelphia is proud
Looking for reasons, blaming Hebrew; the cadence of the
So why do I bring this into give them away, we commit to
to provide diverse perspectives
themselves, the doctors, God. chant; the connection with Ki Tavo?
living a generous life, beyond
on Torah commentary for the
Entering a new land, fearful of a long line of ancestors —
“When you enter the land that our personal needs, to attend
Jewish Exponent. The opinions
what is coming and tired of the and the other elements of the LORD your God is giving you to the needs of others.

expressed in this column are the
pain of living.

gratitude, forgiveness and as a heritage, and you possess
Giving these fruits, ritualizes author’s own and do not reflect
And, just as many times, hopes for family. And, saying it and settle in it, you shall take in community, our commitment the view of the Board of Rabbis.

perhaps more often, I have
heard from patients — “Rabbi,
I am ready. I have had a good
life; I have been blessed.” They
are ready to leave the land of
the living, but not quite ready
to enter the new land.

If they are fortunate to
have family members at their
bedside, there is a poignant
moment when they need to
find a way to say goodbye.

Feeling cursed or blessed,
moments of great transition
need to be honored. It is a time
to call upon the rituals that
our tradition has bequeathed.

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Why a ritual? And what has
JEWISH CHARITY OF CLIENT’S CHOICE
this to do with our parsha, Ki
Tavo? First, why a ritual? Let’s look
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