Shabbat Parashat Ki Tavo - 5781

Shabbat Parashat Ki Tavo - 5781

Rabbi Hal Miller

Moshe and the elders of Israel commanded the people saying, keep the entire

commandment that I command you this day. [Devarim 27:1]

Our parsha contains some confusing references to who is speaking to the people.

In the beginning of Devarim, the Torah says, "These are the words that Moshe

spoke to all Israel" [1:1], which we can take as the default situation throughout the

book of Devarim. Verse [4:1] says, "Now Israel, listen to the decrees and to the

ordinances that I teach you to perform", closely followed by [5:1], "Moshe called

all of Israel and said to them, hear Israel the statutes and the ordinances that I

speak in your ears today." Thus far, it seems clear.

Then comes our verse, followed by [27:9], "Moshe and the Kohanim, the Levites,

spoke to all Israel saying, be attentive and hear, Israel. This day you have become

a people to Hashem your God." Now there could have been a change, that Moshe

was no longer going to speak alone, but the Torah did not give us anything specific

to understand that there was a change, unless it was these two verses. Further,

Moshe continues to do all the actual speaking until his death, so even if these

verses indicate that change, it didn't get implemented right away at the least.

Ibn Ezra gives a simplistic answer, implying that he doesn't see this as a problem:

"Moshe often included the elders to help him deliver his messages in order to make

it easier for him." Although Onkelos and Saadiah Gaon differ on how to read "the

Kohanim the Levites", their concentration only on that part of these verses implies

that they agree with Ibn Ezra that we don't have a need to ask our question. But

others do look at the issue.

Rav Hirsch concentrates on the word shamor, translated above as keep the entire

commandment. The fact that the elders were standing next to Moshe when Moshe

said this to the people was to teach that the mitzvah of "guard, study, carry out the

mitzvot" applies to all the people, not just the leaders. He gives a second, if not

analogous reason for the Kohanim verse, that Moshe stopped the Kohanim from

their service at this point, both to remove the distraction the people might have had

from seeing them scurrying around performing the service, and to emphasize to

everyone should be paying attention because all are responsible for keeping mitzvot.

Ramban and Sforno address our question more directly. Ramban says that our

verse indicates that when Moshe finished speaking, the elders then spoke to the

people reinforcing Moshe's words about observing the Torah, "for every nation follows

the counsel of its elders." In the Kohanim verse, Ramban understands that it was

actually the Kohanim who said, "be attentive and hear, Israel", followed by Moshe

saying, "this day you have become a people", thus the Kohanim were the warm-up

act to ensure people paid attention to this next statement.

Much of the above is heading in the same direction, and Sforno pins it down. He

says that "the elders were invited because they were going to guide the people after

they entered the land" followed by the Moshe telling the Kohanim to study Torah in

depth "because it was their primary duty to teach Torah to the people." By including

both the elders and the Kohanim in these verses, the Torah is teaching that we all

have a responsibility, not only to observe its mitzvot, but to pass along to our

generations all the commandments.