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Refuah Sheimah: "May it be Your will, LORD my G-d, and the G-d of my forefathers, that You quickly send refuah sh'lemah (complete healing) from heaven, spiritual healing and physical healing to Ben Waistein (Benyiamin ben Elisheva) from Israel.

Continue praying for: Stuart Holtzclaw and Randy Shute from Syracuse, NY, Teddy Welz, Miriam (Mariana) "bat Zulay", Adina (Heidi) "bat Sarah" e Yosefa (Josie) "bat Sharon", Rafael ben Gladis e Esther Bracha "bat Sarah".

Ki Tavo

Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8

This week's portion includes: Bringing to the Temple as an offering the first fruits of the Seven Species special to the Land of Israel, Declaration of tithes, the Almighty designating the Jewish people as His treasured people (Deut. 26:16 -19), the command to set up in the Jordan River and then on Mount Ebal large stones which had the Torah written upon them in 70 languages, the command to have a public ratification of the acceptance of the Law from Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal; the Torah then sets forth the blessings for following the Law and the curses for not following it, and concludes with Moshe's final discourse. Verse 28:46 tells us the importance of serving the Almighty with "joy and a good heart." The last verse of the portion instructs us "You shall fulfill the words of this covenant and do them so that you will succeed in all that you do!"

"...the Almighty lists the many blessings that one receives for fulfilling the mitzvot, the commandments. Unlike other religions which promise reward in the World to Come, the Torah only speaks of this world rewards -- blessings of food in your storehouse, peace from your enemies, healthy offspring."

The Torah goes further than listing the blessings, it states:

"And it will come to you all of these blessings and they will reach you, when you listen to the voice of the Almighty, your G-d" (Deut. 28:2). If the Torah says "and it will come to you," why does it add the seemingly extra words "and they will reach you"?

A person does not always realize what is truly good for him or her and mistakenly runs away from the blessing. Therefore, the Torah guarantees that the blessing will pursue the person and reach him even though he is trying to escape from it. Only after he receives the blessing will he become aware of what is really good for him.

This idea will save a person much suffering. When things happen that seem to be a negative occurrence, be patient before you make a final judgment. As one event leads to another you will frequently see before your eyes that what you thought was negative in the end turned out to be clearly positive! Be aware of occasions when this already happened to you in the past and then you will be able to internalize this awareness for the future!

There is no meaningful thought without act; there is no meaningful action without thought! A goal is a dream with a deadline.

SHABBAT SHALOM,

R. Ovadiah Tank

Online Learning

Rabbi Tank is a professor at the American Jewish College, where he teaches classes on Talmud, Jewish History, and Contemporary Jewish Law. Rabbi Tank is dedicated to finding modern utility and meaning in ancient wisdom texts and is pleased to provide spiritual, cultural, social and educational programming to communities around the world. 

Rabbi Tank was educated at Yeshivas in New York and Miami. He studied Biblical Archeology at Bar Ilan University and Jewish Studies at Harvard University. Rabbi Tank has a Bachelor degree in Business Administration and he is also graduated in International Economic Development from the University of Oxford. 

Rabbi Tank is actively involved in peace negotiations and relief operations. Rabbi Tank is the director of international affairs at the World Jewish Confederation headquarters in New York and He is member of the White House National Religious Leaders , an Executive Office of the President of the United States in Washington, D.C.