page_title: Ki Tavo
section_title: Deuteronomy chapter 28
hierarchical_section_title: Ki Tavo / In classical rabbinic interpretation / Deuteronomy chapter 28
caption_attribution_description: English: Pharaoh's army engulfed by the Red Sea, oil on canvas, by Frederick Arthur Bridgman
context_page_description: Ki Tavo, Ki Thavo, Ki Tabo, Ki Thabo, or Ki Savo is the 50th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the seventh in the Book of Deuteronomy. It constitutes Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8. The parashah tells of the ceremony of the first fruits, tithes, and the blessings from observance and curses from violation of the law.
  The parashah is made up of 6,811 Hebrew letters, 1,747 Hebrew words, 122 verses, and 261 lines in a Torah Scroll. Jews generally read it in September, or rarely in late August.
context_section_description: The Mishnah taught that they read the blessings and curses of Leviticus 26:3–45 and Deuteronomy 28:1–68 on public fast days. The Mishnah taught that they did not interrupt the reading of the curses, but had one person read them all. In the Babylonian Talmud, however, Abaye taught that this rule applies only with regard to the curses in Leviticus 26, but with regard to the curses in Deuteronomy 28, one may interrupt them and have two different people read them. The Gemara explained this distinction by noting that the curses in Leviticus are stated in the plural, and Moses pronounced them from the mouth God, and as such, they are more severe. The curses in Deuteronomy, however, are stated in the singular, and Moses said them on his own, like the rest of the book of Deuteronomy, and are thus considered less harsh.</ref>
  A Midrash interpreted Deuteronomy 28:1 to teach that Moses told Israel to be diligent to listen to the words of the Torah, because whoever listens to the words of the Torah is exalted in both this world and the World to Come. Another Midrash tied Deuteronomy 28:1, "And it shall come to pass, if you shall listen diligently," to Proverbs 8:34–35, "Happy is the man who listens to me . . . for whoever finds Me finds life, and obtains favor of the Lord." And the Midrash interpreted Proverbs 8:34 to mean that a person is happy whose hearing is devoted to God.
  Reading the words "to observe to do all His commandments" in Deuteronomy 28:1, Rabbi Simeon ben Halafta taught that one who learns the words of the Torah and does not fulfill them receives punishment more severe than does the one who has not learned at all.
  A Midrash expounded on why Israel was, in the words of Jeremiah 11:16, like "a leafy olive tree." In one explanation, the Midrash taught that just as oil floats to the top even after it has been mixed with every kind of liquid, so Israel, as long as it performs the will of God, will be set on high by God, as it says in Deuteronomy 28:1.
  Rabbi Joshua of Siknin in the name of Rabbi Levi interpreted Deuteronomy 28:1 to convey God's message that if people will heed God's commandments, God will heed their prayers.
  Rav's disciples told Rabbi Abba that Rav interpreted the words of Deuteronomy 28:3, "Blessed shall you be in the city," to mean that your house would be near a synagogue. Rav interpreted the words, "and blessed shall you be in the field," to mean that your property would be near the city. Rav interpreted the words of Deuteronomy 28:6, "Blessed shall you be when you come in," to mean that you would not find your wife in doubt of being a niddah upon returning home from travels. And Rav interpreted the words, "and blessed shall you be when you go out," to mean that your children would be like you. Rabbi Abba replied that Rabbi Joḥanan interpreted the words of Deuteronomy 28:3, "Blessed shall you be in the city," to mean that the privy, not the synagogue, would be near at hand. Rabbi Johanan's interpretation was in accordance with his opinion that one receives reward for walking (some distance) to a synagogue. Rabbi Johanan interpreted the words, "And blessed shall you be in the field," to mean that your estate would be divided into three equal portions of cereals, olives, and vines.
  Rabbi Isaac interpreted the words of Deuteronomy 28:3, "Blessed shall you be in the city," to mean that God will reward people for the commandments that they fulfil in the city — the dough offering (Hebrew: חלה‎, challah), the fringes (Hebrew: ציצית‎, tzitzit), the sukkah, and the kindling of Shabbat candles. And the continuation of Deuteronomy 28:3, "And blessed shall you be in the field," means that God will reward for the precepts people fulfil in the field — the gleanings in the field that belong to the poor (leket), the forgotten sheaf in the field that belongs to the poor (shikhah), and the corner of the field left unreaped for the poor (Hebrew: פֵּאָה‎, peah), And the Rabbis interpreted Deuteronomy 28:3 to mean that people will feel blessed in the city because they have been blessed through the field, the earth having 
caption: Pharaoh's Army Engulfed by the Red Sea (1900 painting by Frederick Arthur Bridgman)
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