The main theme of this parsha is what the Israelites are to do once they come into the Land that God has promised them. Our Parshah also includes the laws of the tithes given to the Levites and to the poor, and detailed instructions on how to proclaim the blessings and the curses on Mount Grizzim and Mount Ebal. Moses reminds the people that they are God’s chosen people, and that they, in turn, have chosen God.
This is partly based on an article by Avraham Plotkin
Saying “thank you” is such an integral part of our Christian faith tradition. In this weeks reading, there is shown the obligatory thanks that a farmer is to speak to God when he brings the first fruits of his produce to the Temple. Let’s read that now from the parsha:
Deu 26:4 Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God.
Deu 26:5 “And you shall make response before the LORD your God, ‘A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous.
Deu 26:6 And the Egyptians treated us harshly and humiliated us and laid on us hard labor.
Deu 26:7 Then we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.
Deu 26:8 And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror, with signs and wonders.
Deu 26:9 And he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
Deu 26:10 And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O LORD, have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the LORD your God and worship before the LORD your God.
At first reading, this seems to be a rather verbose thank-you. It might make you wonder whether this was a case of the Bible getting carried away with some flowery poetry. Couldn’t God have given the poor farmer who traveled all the way to Jerusalem a simpler way of saying “thank you”?
But upon reflection, the Torah was actually teaching us a great lesson. Saying “thank you” should never be some brief line that we were taught to say by rote. “Don’t forget to say thank you and please,” You will hear parents telling their children. Which is great, but there is more to thanking than just the fulfillment of some social convention and responsibility. Saying thanks is a full realization of the context of the gift or kindness that we have received and of the history behind it. It should be an expression of our inner appreciation of the gift.
In our passage above, the farmer’s thanks included a review of all that God had done in the past. The ‘thanks’ for a great harvest comes at the end of a long history between God and His people.
When we thank our parents, spouse or friends, we need to take into consideration what these people have done for us, not only today but in the past. The Torah is telling us that we need to consider the words that we offer, so that it paints a full picture of our sincere appreciation for what we have been given.
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