Credit to the great Ohr Hachaim for his clever reading of the first several verses in Ki Tavo. Ingeniously he reads it as an allegory for death and our entrance into heaven. This seems like a prime example of how new interpretations can refresh and revitalize verses making them meaningful after circumstances have rendered their plain sense irrelevant
See the full discussion after the jump.
Now, I agree this all belongs to the category of "sod" But what is sod? Do we say that sod came from Sinai, and was passed on in secret for thousands of years before being revealed? Or do you agree with me when I say the sod was created at a particular moment in time to solve a particular problem or to advance a particular (religious or whatever) objective? Consider what the OC does here, and see what you think.
Here is what he does:
וְהָיָה, כִּי-תָבוֹא אֶל-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, נֹתֵן לְךָ נַחֲלָה; וִירִשְׁתָּהּ, וְיָשַׁבְתָּ בָּהּ.And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and dost possess it, and dwell therein;
He reads this as:
And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land (by which we mean the world to come) which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance (an inheritance that you have earned through your good deeds), and dost possess it, and dwell therein (as it is written the righteous "dwell" in the world to come with crowns of glory on their heads.)
וְלָקַחְתָּ מֵרֵאשִׁית כָּל-פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה, אֲשֶׁר תָּבִיא מֵאַרְצְךָ אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ--וְשַׂמְתָּ בַטֶּנֶא; וְהָלַכְתָּ, אֶל-הַמָּקוֹם, אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, לְשַׁכֵּן שְׁמוֹ שָׁם
that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which thou shalt bring in from thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee; and thou shalt put it in a basket and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to cause His name to dwell there.
He reads this as:
that thou shalt take of the first (or say better "the best," or, better still, say the Torah, which is called rayshis) of all the fruit of the ground (by which we mean the results of your good deeds) which thou shalt bring in from thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee (and which you subsequently acquired via your good deeds); and thou shalt put (those good deeds) in a basket (by which we mean you should shape your good deeds according to the understanding of Chazal who provided their teachings in shas which has the same gematriah as basket) and shalt go unto (traveling through the so-called antechamber where the soul prepares itself for anywhere from seven days to a year before ultimately reaching) the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to cause His name to dwell there. (ie the World to Come)
He reads this as:
And thou shalt come unto the priest (namely the angel Michael, the priest of heaven, who brings the souls of the righteous as sacrifices, which are called ishei yisroel) that shall be in those days
[SKIP[
וְעָנִיתָ וְאָמַרְתָּ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, אֲרַמִּי אֹבֵד אָבִי, וַיֵּרֶד מִצְרַיְמָה, וַיָּגָר שָׁם בִּמְתֵי מְעָט; וַיְהִי-שָׁם, לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל עָצוּם וָרָב.And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God: 'A wandering Aramean was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there, few in number; and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous.
וְעָנִיתָ וְאָמַרְתָּ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, אֲרַמִּי אֹבֵד אָבִי, וַיֵּרֶד מִצְרַיְמָה, וַיָּגָר שָׁם בִּמְתֵי מְעָט; וַיְהִי-שָׁם, לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל עָצוּם וָרָב.And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God: 'A wandering Aramean was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there, few in number; and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous.
He reads this as:
And (when you are asked why you didn't do your best and achieve all you were supposed to achieve) thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God: 'An Aramean (namely the deceiver, ie ramai, or the evil inclination) sought to destroy my father (when the snake went after Adam) and he went down (downhill that is) into Egypt, and sojourned there (which is why it has become so difficult for me to perform your commandments properly) few in number; and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous.
Or alternatively he reads this as:
And (when you are asked why you didn't do your best and achieve all you were supposed to achieve) thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God: 'An Aramean (namely the deceiver, ie ramai, or the evil inclination) sought to destroy my father (when the snake went after Adam) and he went down (downhill that is) into Egypt, and sojourned there (which is why it has become so difficult for me to perform your commandments properly) few in number; and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous.
Or alternatively he reads this as:
An Aramean (namely the deceiver, ie ramai, or the evil inclination) sought to destroy my father (ie me), and (I) went down into Egypt (by which we mean spiritual despair or failings, or whatever our "persoanl mitrayim" might be ) and sojourned there, few in number; and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous. (our sins took root and grew many)
וַיָּרֵעוּ אֹתָנוּ הַמִּצְרִים, וַיְעַנּוּנוּ; וַיִּתְּנוּ עָלֵינוּ, עֲבֹדָה קָשָׁה
And the Egyptians dealt ill with us, and afflicted us and laid upon us hard bondage
וַיָּרֵעוּ אֹתָנוּ הַמִּצְרִים, וַיְעַנּוּנוּ; וַיִּתְּנוּ עָלֵינוּ, עֲבֹדָה קָשָׁה
And the Egyptians dealt ill with us, and afflicted us and laid upon us hard bondage
He reads this as:
And the Egyptians dealt ill with us, and afflicted us (but read וַיָּרֵעוּ אֹתָנוּ הַמִּצְרִים as "The Egyptians made us evil" which describes what the evil inclination did to us, ie, IT made us into evil beings), and laid upon us hard bondage (by which we mean suffering and struggles to achieve good things)
And we cried unto the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice, and saw our affliction, and our toil, and our oppression.
He reads this as:
And we (responded to this suffering brought upon us by our sins and) cried unto the LORD, the God of our fathers (through our heartfelt prayers) and the LORD heard our voice (raised in prayer), and saw our affliction, and our toil, and our oppression.
וַיּוֹצִאֵנוּ יְהוָה, מִמִּצְרַיִם, בְּיָד חֲזָקָה וּבִזְרֹעַ נְטוּיָה, וּבְמֹרָא גָּדֹל--וּבְאֹתוֹת, וּבְמֹפְתִים
And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders
He reads this as:
And (just as) the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt (he can rescue all of us from our personal Egypt and rescue us from the Evil Inclination) with a mighty hand (namely the Torah, which is a defense against the evil inclination), and with an outstretched arm (namely your arm tefillin which is a defense against the evil inclination) , and with great terribleness (namely your head tefillin, which causes the other nations to fear us), and with signs (namely your tzitzis), and with wonders (namely your mezuzah)
וַיְבִאֵנוּ, אֶל-הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה; וַיִּתֶּן-לָנוּ אֶת-הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת, אֶרֶץ זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבָשׁ
וְעַתָּה, הִנֵּה הֵבֵאתִי אֶת-רֵאשִׁית פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה, אֲשֶׁר-נָתַתָּה לִּי, יְהוָה; וְהִנַּחְתּוֹ, לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתָ, לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ
And He hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the land, which Thou, O LORD, hast given me.' And thou shalt set it down before the LORD thy God, and bow before the LORD thy God.
He reads this as:
And (after rescuing us from our personal Egypt) He hath brought us into this place (the World to Come), and hath given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the land (the good deeds I was able to assemble), which Thou, O LORD, hast given me.' And (now I am ready to) set it down before the LORD thy God, and bow before (by which we mean cling to) the LORD thy God (without distraction, for eternity).
וְשָׂמַחְתָּ בְכָל-הַטּוֹב, אֲשֶׁר נָתַן-לְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ--וּלְבֵיתֶךָ: אַתָּה, וְהַלֵּוִי, וְהַגֵּר, אֲשֶׁר בְּקִרְבֶּ
And thou shalt rejoice in all the good which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thy house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is in the midst of thee.
He reads this as:
And thou shalt rejoice in all the good (the good being the sweetness of Torah, as there is nothing in the world which can surpass the goodness of Torah) which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thy house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is in the midst of thee.
Search for more information about how the Sages reinterpreted verses at4torah.com
And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the land, which Thou, O LORD, hast given me.' And thou shalt set it down before the LORD thy God, and bow before the LORD thy God.
He reads this as:
And (after rescuing us from our personal Egypt) He hath brought us into this place (the World to Come), and hath given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the land (the good deeds I was able to assemble), which Thou, O LORD, hast given me.' And (now I am ready to) set it down before the LORD thy God, and bow before (by which we mean cling to) the LORD thy God (without distraction, for eternity).
וְשָׂמַחְתָּ בְכָל-הַטּוֹב, אֲשֶׁר נָתַן-לְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ--וּלְבֵיתֶךָ: אַתָּה, וְהַלֵּוִי, וְהַגֵּר, אֲשֶׁר בְּקִרְבֶּ
And thou shalt rejoice in all the good which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thy house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is in the midst of thee.
He reads this as:
And thou shalt rejoice in all the good (the good being the sweetness of Torah, as there is nothing in the world which can surpass the goodness of Torah) which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thy house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is in the midst of thee.
Search for more information about how the Sages reinterpreted verses at4torah.com
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