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Sent: 	 Friday, September 19, 1997 5:06 AM
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Subject: Parashat Ki-Tavo 5757 - "The Legacy of Mt. Eival"




Reply-to:      kornfeld@netmedia.net.il
From:          Mordecai Kornfeld <kornfeld@netmedia.net.il>
Subject:       Parashat Ki-Tavo 5757 - "The Legacy of Mt. Eival"


                         The Weekly Internet

              P * A * R * A * S * H * A - P * A * G * E

                           ---            ---

                         by Mordecai Kornfeld
                        of Har Nof, Jerusalem
                        (kornfeld@virtual.co.il)

============================================================
I would like to dedicate this issue to the memory of a dear friend of the 
family, Dr. Simcha Bekelnitzky of Queens N.Y., whose sudden passing a few 
weeks ago left us all in shock. May Hashem console his wife and children 
and provide them with the strength necessary to weather this difficult 
time.

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PARASHAT  KI-TAVO 5757

                THE LEGACY OF MT. EIVAL

        Entering the Land of Israel after 40 years of drifting over the hot 
desert sands and after losing 600,000 prime members of the nation, must 
have been an emotionally loaded experience for all of those who merited to 
participate in the event. As if the sheer excitement of stepping foot in 
the land were not enough, the day of their arrival in Israel was marked 
with countless miracles and numerous never-to-be-repeated religious rites, 
some of which are described in this week's Parasha.

        Shortly after stepping foot on the soil of the Holy Land, the Jews 
miraculously found themselves standing before Mts. Grizim and Eival, a pair 
of mountains bordering on the city of Shechem to the west and the east, 
respectively. There, they were commanded to perform a unique "swearing-in 
ceremony" in which they accepted upon themselves all of the Mitzvos of the 
Torah. Although the Torah only provides a broad description of what was to 
transpire, the Mishnah describes it in full detail:

        Six tribes climbed to the top of Mt. Grizim while the other six  
climbed to the top of Mt. Eival. The Kohanim, the Levi'im and the Holy Ark 
remained below, between the two.... the Kohanim turned their faces towards 
Mt. Grizim and began with the blessing, "Blessed be the person who does not 
make an idol!" -- and the Israelites atop the two mountains responded, 
"Amen!" Next, the Kohanim turned towards Mt. Eival and pronounced the first 
of the curses: "Cursed be the person who makes an idol!" -- to which the 
groups atop both mountains responded, "Amen!" They continued in this manner 
(i.e. blessing, curse, blessing, curse) for the rest of the curses 
(mentioned in Devarim 27:15-26).
                                (Mishnah, Sotah 32a)

                                II
        The Torah provides a full list of the 12 curses that were to be 
pronounced during this ceremony, each preceded by a blessing produced by 
inverting the curse. The number "12" was presumably chosen because it 
corresponds with the number of the tribes of Israel (Ba'alei ha'Tosfos; 
Chizkuni). In truth, however, the first eleven are summed up by the 
twelfth, most general, curse, "Cursed be one who does not accept upon 
himself to fulfill all of the commandments of the Torah." This makes all of 
the preceding, more specific, curses extraneous. Rashi explains (27:24) 
that the preceding 11 curses were meant to correspond to 11 of the twelve 
tribes, while the twelfth was directed towards the entire nation. Which 
tribe was not relegated a curse? The tribe of Shimon, Rashi explains. Moshe 
did not want to direct a curse towards Shimon, since he did not intend to 
direct a *blessing* towards that tribe before he passed away as he did with 
the other tribes.

        At first blush, Rashi seems to be explaining no more than why, in 
general, the number 11 was chosen for the curses. There does not seem to be 
a direct correlation between each one of the curses and a specific tribe. 
Abravanel, in his commentary, attempts to actually link each curse to a 
specific tribe, although he does so in no particular order. Outdoing that, 
the Pirchei Nisan (by the author of "Kohelet Yitzchak," Vilna 1900, 
Parashat Vayishlach) suggests that each of the curses corresponds to a 
tribe in a very clear order; specifically, that in which the tribes are 
listed in the section of the Torah that lists the 11 curses (Devarim 27: 
12:13).

        The Torah commands that six of those tribes descended from Yakov's 
primary wives (Rachel and Leah) should stand upon the "Mountain of the 
Blessing," Mt. Grizim. The four who descended from his concubines (Bilhah 
and Zilpah) along with the descendants of Leah's eldest and youngest sons 
should stand upon the "Mountain of the Curse," Mt. Eival. In specifying 
this command, the Torah lists the 12 tribes in the following order: Shimon, 
Levi, Yehudah, Yisachar, Yosef, Binyamin (Mt. Grizim), Reuven, Gad, Asher, 
Zevulun, Dan, Naftali (Mt. Eival). Disregarding Shimon, at whom no curse 
was directed according to Rashi, the 11 curses each correspond to a 
different tribe in the order in which they are listed here. 

Here is the way  the list looks (I have initialed each explanation to show whose suggestion 
it is):

(1) LEVI - "Cursed be one who makes idols." The tribe of Levi was the only 
one that did not serve the Golden Calf (see Rashi to Devarim 33:9). (PN)

(2) YEHUDAH - "Cursed be one who shows disrespect to his parents." Yehudah 
promised his father to return Binyamin unscathed, and then risked his life 
to fulfill his promise for the sake of his father (Bereishit 42:32) (PN)

(3) YISACHAR - "Cursed be one who tries to take for himself his neighbor's 
property." Yisachar was conceived when Leah claimed Yakov for herself even 
though it was Rachel's night. However, she paid Rachel in full for the 
privelege (Bereishit 30:16) (PN). Secondly, Yisachar's leader brought his 
sacrifices (during the dedication ceremony of the Mishkan) before Reuven's 
leader. Reuven's leader complained that he rightfully ought to be first, 
since his tribal ancestor was older, but Hashem supported Yisachar's 
leader, saying that it was rightfully Yisachar's turn after all (Rashi to 
Bamidbar 7:19). (TM)

(4) YOSEF - "Cursed be one who misleads the blind on the road." When Yosef 
was on the road trying to locate his brothers, he "blindly" trusted that 
they would do him no harm. They, however, took advantage of him and did 
harm him. Thus, he was the only one of the brothers that did not mislead 
the blind (PN). Alternatively, when Yosef was viceroy of Egypt, his 
brothers "blindly" stumbled upon him. Although they did not know who he 
was, Yosef did not take advantage of that fact to take his revenge. (MK)

(5) BINYAMIN - "Cursed be one who does injustice to a proselyte, orphan or 
widow." Binyamin was an orphan, and thus this curse protected him. (PN)

(6) REUVEN - (Explained above)

(7) GAD - "Cursed be he who cohabits with an animal" - Gad gave precedence 
to their animals even over their own children (Rashi Bamidbar 32:16). It 
was therefore necessary to warn them of this more than the other tribes. 
(MK)

(8) ASHER - "Cursed be he who cohabits with his sister." The women of the 
tribe of Asher were particularly pretty (Rashi Devarim 33:24), so Asher had 
to be warned of this more than any other tribe (TM).

(9) ZEVULUN - "Cursed be he who cohabits with his mother in law." The 
members of the tribe of Zevulun were merchants who sailed long distances to 
trade goods with other nations (Rashi Devarim 33:18). Undoubtedly, their 
wives would often live together with their mothers so that they could help 
each other out while their husbands were away at sea. Special warning must 
be given to the man whose wife and mother in law are living under the same 
roof, since a man may become fond of his mother in law (Bava Basra 98b; 
Pesachim 103a). (GP)

(10) DAN - "Cursed be the one who smites his friend secretly (i.e., who 
slanders his friend - Rashi)." Dan is compared to a "snake" who "bites his 
enemies horses' hooves" (Bereishit 49:17). He must be warned to direct his 
energies against the enemy, and not to use the character of a snake (the 
snake is associated with slander in many Midrashim, such as in Tanchuma, 
Metzora #2) to slyly hurt others from his own nation. (MK)

(11) NAFTALI - "Cursed be the one who receives a bribe to kill the 
innocent." Naftali was so named because he was born after Rachel "attempted 
by any and all means ("Naftulei... Niftalti") to beg Hashem to grant her 
children through her maid-servant (Bereishit 30:8). Naftali was therefore 
liable to try to attain his will through any means, however illicit, so he 
in particular had to be warned not to be involved with bribes.

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