Ki Tavo (When You Come In)
        (Sefer Devarim) Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:8

 26:1- "And it shall be when thou has come in, to the land which YHVH thy Elohim gives thee for an inheritance,

            and possess it, and dwell therein;
       2-    That thou shall take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shall bring of thy land that YHVH

            thy Elohim gives thee, and shall put it in a basket, and shall go unto the place which YHVH thy Elohim

                shall choose to place His name there.
      3-    And thou shall go to the kohain that shall be in those days and say unto him, I profess this day unto

                YHVH thy Elohim, that I am come unto the country which YHVH swore to our fathers for to give us.
       4-    And the kohain shall take the basket out of thine hand and set it down before the altar of YHVH thy Elohim.
     5-    And thou shall answer and say before YHVH thy Elohim, An Aramean perishing was my father, and he went

                down into Egypt and sojourned there with a few and became there a nation: great, mighty and populous:
     6-      And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:
     7-      And when we cried unto YHVH the Elohim of our fathers, YHVH heard our voice, and looked on our

                       affliction, and our labor, and our oppression:
     8-      And YHVH 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:
     9-      And He has brought us into this place and has given us this land, a land that flows with milk and honey.
   10-      And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O YHVH, has given me. And

                thou shall set it before YHVH thy Elohim, and worship before YHVH thy Elohim:
   11-       And thou shall rejoice in every good thing which YHVH thy Elohim has given unto thee, and unto thine

                house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.
   12-      When thou has made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of

                tithing, and has given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat

                within thy gates, and be filled;
   13-    Then thou shall say before YHVH thy Elohim, I have brought out the holy things out of mine house, and

            also, have given them unto the Levite and to the stranger, to the fatherless and to the widow, according

            to all Thy commandments which Thou has commanded me: I have not transgressed Thy commandments,

neither have I forgotten them:
   14-     I have not eaten in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought for any unclean use, nor given ought

for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of YHVH my Elohim, and have done according to all that

Thou has commanded me.
   15-     Look down from Thy holy habitation, from heaven and bless Thy people Yisrael, and the land which Thou

                has given us, as Thou swore unto our fathers, a land that flows with milk and honey.

16-     This day YHVH thy Elohim has commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shall therefore

                keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
   17-      Thou has avouched YHVH this day to be for thee Elohim, and to walk in His ways, and to keep His statutes,

                and His commandments, and His judgments, and to hearken unto His voice:
   18-      And YHVH has avouched thee this day to be His peculiar people, as He has promised thee, and that thou

                should keep all His commandments;
   19-      And to make thee high above all nations which He has made, in praise, and in name, and in honor; and that

                thou may be an holy people unto YHVH thy Elohim, as He has spoken."

“Stand in the gate of YHVH's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of YHVH,

 all ye of Yehudah, that enter in at these gates to worship YHVH. Thus says YHVH Tzivaot, the

 Elohim of Yisrael, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place."
                                                                                                                          (Jeremiah 7:2-3)  

“Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy

 father's house.”
                                                                                                                          (Psalms 45:10)

“For what portion of Elohim is there from above?  and what inheritance of the Almighty, from the

 heights?”
                                                                                                                          (Job 31:2)
“With gladness and rejoicing will they be borne: they shall come into the king's palace."
                                                                                                                          (Psalms 45:15)
“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and

 bless his name."
                                                                                                                          (Psalms 100:4)
“In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Yehudah; We have a strong city; salvation will

 Elohim appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates that the righteous nation which keeps

 the truth may enter in."  

                                                                                                                          (Isaiah 26:1-2) 

Ki Tavo - Summary:
1.    Professing the Road to Inheritance with Decisive Thanks:

          With the recitation of the glorious and notorious blessings and cursings that would more fully indict a nation with consequences good and bad, parasha Ki Tavo brings us in with a charge to re-narrate the legacy of HaShem's great deliverance.  In bringing us back to the land where we were once alienated in the slavery of Egypt, it is “YHVH Elohecha” (HaShem thy Elohim) that must be considered.  Nothing short of a devoted remembrance of the One who elevated the camp of Yisrael from bondage to freedom will aid us in the way.

Twelve times are the tribes elicited to approach Eval and Gerizim by the name, YHVH thy Elohim.  Calling attention to the expression of faith, held in the basket of firstfruits to the Kohain, the tithe to the Levite, and those consecrated things to the less fortunate, there is a verbal declaration, acknowledging HaShem’s provision towards us by how we live, as Isaiah 1:13 & 17 remind:

   “Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto Me; the new moons and shabbats the calling of assemblies, I cannot endure; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting...Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.”
          Before obedience can be seen, there must first be an obedient heart.  What would it take for the sons and daughters to posture themselves for the promises of blessing proclaimed atop Gerizim.  After a recent history of  reviling and revolt, what could keep them aright, determined to drown out Eval’s doom?  Apart from repentance, welcomed with the memorializing of their Elohim's mighty hand, hardness would confine their hearts.  Psalms 50:5-7 enjoins the people of HaShem to first grasp their accountability, as it is written:
   “Gather My saints together unto Me; those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.  And the heavens shall declare His righteousness: for Elohim is Judge Himself.   Selah. Hear, O My people and I will speak; O Yisrael, and I will testify against thee: I am Elohim, even thy Elohim.”  Understanding maturity to be the goal, we will then be able to receive the charge and come back to that same Elohim, His ways candidly declaredly by the mouth of His prophet in Jeremiah 7:5-7, proclaiming:
   “For if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor; if ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt, then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, forever and ever.”

Continuing in the resolute faith by which we make our appeal, Joshua 24:15 sides with Ki Tavo, reaffirming:
   “And if it seem evil unto you to serve YHVH, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve YHVH.”

May we sincerely reverberate the words replied to Yehoshua in verses 16 and 17, chiming with conviction:

   “And the people answered and said, far be is from us that we should forsake YHVH, to serve other gods; for YHVH our Elohim, He it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed.”
 

2.  Our Entrance towards Eternity, Coming into Our Elohim's Gates:

       As we outwardly express our thanks for our arrival upon his promises of preservation and purpose, we must not ease up on entering the gates eternal, profound and found internally.  As the forces without dictate the impending futures on a world, forgetful of HaShem’s ways, the movements of the spirit within invites the pursuant soul to enjoy that peace which is along the path upward, as Isaiah 26:20 offers that shelter, saying:
   “Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.  For, behold, YHVH comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.”
Psalms 32:7 names that eye of the storm for those surrounded by the repercussions for neglected ways:
   “Thou are my hiding place; Thou shall preserve me from trouble; Thou shall compass me about

     with songs of deliverance. Selah.”