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Torah Reading – Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8
Cursed be any party who makes a sculptured or molten image, abhorred by יהוה, a craftsman’s handiwork, and sets it up in secret.—And all the people shall respond, Amen. Cursed be the one who insults father or mother….Cursed be the one who moves a neighbor’s landmark….Cursed be the one who misdirects a blind person who is underway….Cursed be the one who subverts the rights of the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow….Cursed be whoever will not uphold the terms of this Teaching and observe them.—And all the people shall say, Amen.
~Deuteronomy 27:15-26
The Israelites stand on the precipice of the Land of Israel, as Moses describes to them a ritual they are to perform in Israel, with the tribes dividing up between two mountains to represent the blessings and curses that may await them, depending on the choices they make. This public recitation and communal response reminds me of the Viddui, the confessional liturgy of Yom Kippur – fitting for this month of Elul as we prepare for the High Holy Days! Like the Israelites on the mountaintops of blessings and curses, we hold two things in tension during these Sacred Days: the ideal self we strive for, and the self that has failed in so many ways. May we blessed to meet in the middle, facing our most authentic selves with love and compassion.
~Rachel Petroff Kessler
