Deuteronomy-Chap-28-1-34
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Remember the following truth
from our beloved Torah!
“Ye shall NOT ADD TO THE WORD which
I command you, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH FROM
IT, that ye may keep the commandments of יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם - the LORD your Eloleichem, which I command you”. Davarim -
Deuteronomy 4:2. (JPS-1917).
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Part One..
With Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
Introduction:
This chapter, known as the Ki Tavo or the Tochacha (The Admonition), serves as the definitive
covenantal contract between the Almighty and the Children of Israel. It sets
forth a clear, binary reality: the profound national prosperity that follows
obedience to the Divine commandments, and the devastating physical and
psychological disintegration that follows the abandonment of that path. The
language is visceral, moving from the heights of agricultural and civil
blessing to the depths of sensory and social despair.
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Below are the 34 verses of Deuteronomy Chapter 28:
Whilst below the verses are the Explanation’s and more. (The Chapter is from JPS-1917 version
of the Torah).
Verses 1-6: And it shall
come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֶיךָ -
the LORD thy Eloheicha (God), to observe to do all His commandments which I
command thee this day, that יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֶיךָ -
the LORD thy Eloheicha will set thee on high above all the nations of the
earth. And all these blessings shall come upon thee, and
overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֶיךָ -
the LORD thy Eloheicha. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and
blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the
fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, and the fruit of thy cattle, the
increase of thy kine, and the young of thy
flock. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy
kneading-trough. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
Explanation: אֱלֹהִים - Elohim establishes the “Blessings in the City
and the Field”. These verses describe a state of total harmony where the
physical environment and the labour of one’s hands are perfectly aligned with
the Divine will, resulting in abundance that is both stationary and mobile.
Verses 7-10: יְהוָה
- the LORD will
cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thee; they
shall come out against thee one way, and shall flee before thee seven
ways. יְהוָה - the LORD will command the blessing with thee in
thy barns, and in all that thou puttest thy hand
unto; and He will bless thee in the land which יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֶיךָ -
the LORD thy Eloheicha giveth thee. יְהוָה
- the LORD will
establish thee for a holy people unto Himself, as He hath sworn unto thee; if
thou shalt keep the commandments of יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֶיךָ -
the LORD thy Eloheicha, and walk in His ways. And all the
peoples of the earth shall see that the name of יְהוָה - the LORD is called upon thee; and they shall be
afraid of thee.
Explanation: Here it describes national security
and sovereign prestige.
Verses 11-14: And יְהוָה
- the LORD will
make thee over-abundant for good, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of
thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, in the land which יְהוָה
- the LORD swore
unto thy fathers to give thee. יְהוָה - the LORD will open unto thee His good treasure the
heaven to give the rain of thy land in its season, and to bless all the work of
thy hand; and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not
borrow. And יְהוָה - the LORD will make thee the head, and not the
tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou
shalt hearken unto the commandments of יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֶיךָ -
the LORD thy Eloheicha, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do
them; and shalt not turn aside from any of the words which
I command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other
gods to serve them.
Explanation: Here it concludes the blessings with
the imagery of the “good treasure” of the heavens. It depicts
Verses 15-19: But it
shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֶיךָ -
the LORD thy Eloheicha, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes
which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and
overtake thee. Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed
shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and
thy kneading-trough. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body,
and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine,
and the young of thy flock. Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
Explanation: It mirror’s the opening blessings but
in the negative. This is the transition into the “Tochacha”.
It marks the beginning of a systemic breakdown where the very same “city and
field” that previously offered life now offer a curse, suggesting that the land
itself reacts to the moral state of the people.
Verses 20-24: יְהוָה
- the LORD will
send upon thee cursing, discomfiture, and rebuke, in all that thou puttest thy hand unto to do, until thou be destroyed, and
until thou perish quickly; because of the evil of thy doings, whereby thou hast
forsaken Me. יְהוָה - the LORD will make the pestilence cleave unto
thee, until He have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest in to possess it. יְהוָה
- the LORD will
smite thee with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with
fiery heat, and with drought, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they
shall pursue thee until thou perish. And thy heaven that is
over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be
iron. יְהוָה - the LORD will make the rain of thy land powder and
dust; from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
Explanation: These verses describe the physical
decay of the body and the land. The text mentions pestilence, consumption, and fever,
alongside a terrifying meteorological shift where the rain becomes “powder and
dust”, turning the life-giving sky into a ceiling of brass.
Verses 25-26: יְהוָה
- the LORD will
cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies; thou shalt go out one way against
them, and shalt flee seven ways before them; and thou shalt be a horror unto
all the kingdoms of the earth. And thy carcasses shall be
food unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and there
shall be none to frighten them away.
Explanation: Here we find detail re the loss of
military dignity. Instead of the unity promised in the blessings, the nation
becomes a “horror” to all kingdoms, with the ultimate indignity being the lack
of a proper burial for the fallen.
Verses 27-34: יְהוָה
- the LORD will
smite thee with the boil of
Explanation: The final verses focuses on the
“Madness and Blindness” of the exile. The curses move from the skin to the
mind. The victim is depicted as “groping at noonday”, unable to see a way out
of their plight while their property, livestock, and even their children are
taken by oppressors. It describes a state of total helplessness where one is
“only oppressed and robbed always”.
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My Closing Message:
The power of this first section lies in its starkness. It reminds us that our relationship
with the Divine is not a passive heritage but an active, it is a daily choice.
The blessings and the hardships are not random; they are the echoes of our own
actions reflecting back at us through the lens of the Covenant!
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