Attention? Ki Tavo

if a ufo landed on earth and an extra terrestrial emerged with the mission to study religion, perhaps they would decide to attend a traditional jewish prayer saturday morning service. without knowing the language, they would experience a few moments in which the would witness an arroused congregation. they would see a few moments of unity. in particular, they would see voices in unity sing monotheism’s affirmation: “hear o’ israel the lord our god, the lord is one.” this torah verse, in hebrew, is referred to as the “she’ma”.

in the torah portion ki tavo, there is the verse: “moses and the levitic priests spoke to all israel, saying, “pay attention and listen, o israel! this day, you have become a people to the lord, your god.”

one must wonder why this particular line includes the additional focus on “attention”; after all, it already includes listen- aka hear or “she ma”. also, the announcement that the children of israel are a people to the lord was certainly a big line. thus, why would it require an exclamation to it?

the answer may not be “what” was being said but rather “who” was saying it. in that moment, both moses and the levitic priests made the declaration. was this attention getting moment to place the people on notice that moses’ message was not be one of exclusivity. rather, there will be others beyond moses who will carry on the legacy of providing the torah’s teachings to the people. in essence, a nation would require more than one figure to provide leadership, direction and education.

the importance of this can be seen in nehemiah chapter 8. upon return from exile, in a landmark moment, ezra reads the torah to the people. it provides “and jeshua, and bani, and sherebiah, jamin, akkub, shabbethai, hodiah, maaseiah, kelita, azariah, jozabad, hanan, pelaiah, and the levites explained the law to the people, and the people stood in their place.” thus, generations later, moses’ laws- without moses- are read with levitical assistance. this moment evidenced that the torch of leadership and education was in fact transmitted.

with this notion in mind, it would not be surprising that the synagogue-going extra terrestrial would also make note of the torah reading service. they would also find that moment as “attention” getting as well.

be well!!

if you enjoyed this post, please “like”

if you would like to read more posts, click here

if you find this post meaningful, please share