The name Ki Tavo—“When you have come in”—sets the tone of arrival, of transition from the wilderness sojourn to the settled life of covenant responsibility in Eretz Yisrael. This portion highlights two great themes: 1) the sanctification of the first-fruits and the tithe, and 2) the solemn proclamation of blessings and curses upon Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. At its heart, it emphasises covenant loyalty, thanksgiving, and the weight of Israel’s calling as a nation set apart for Mar-Yah.
The Offering of First-fruits (26:1–11)
The parashah opens with the command that upon entering the land, Israel is to bring the first-fruits of the produce to the sanctuary. This act of offering is a liturgical confession of Israel’s history and identity. The worshipper recites the creed:
“A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous” (26:5).
This profession binds the worshipper to the covenant story. Every Israelite, regardless of personal wealth or status, is commanded to remember his roots in affliction and to acknowledge that possession of the land is not by human strength but by the mercies of Mar-Yah. The act of bringing first-fruits is one of humility. A token of the land’s bounty is laid before the altar, testifying that it is Mar-Yah who has brought forth the fruit of the soil.
For us, within the New Covenant, this connects with the apostolic teaching that Yeshua himself is the first-fruits of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20). Just as Israel dedicated the first of the harvest to Mar-Yah, so the resurrection of Yeshua is the guarantee of the full harvest to come—the redemption of all creation. The offering of first-fruits in Devarim thus finds its ultimate completion in the risen Mshikha.
The Tithe for the Levite, Stranger, Fatherless, and Widow (26:12–15)
Every third year, the tithe is to be dedicated not for Jerusalem pilgrimage but for distribution to the vulnerable, which includes 1) the Levite, 2) the stranger, 3) the orphan, and 4) the widow. This shows that covenant faithfulness is inseparable from social justice and mercy. Israel is called to mirror the compassion of Mar-Yah, who is “a father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows” (Psalm 68:5).
The declaration made when giving the tithe—“I have not eaten any of it in my mourning, neither have I taken away any of it for unclean use” (26:14)—reminds us that giving is not only an external act but must be joined with purity of intent. The worshipper prays, “Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel, and the land” (26:15). Thus, generosity and intercession go hand in hand.
In the apostolic witness, we see this principle renewed. Ya’aqub, the brother of the Lord, defines “pure religion” in this way: “To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27). The continuity is clear.
Israel as a Holy People (26:16–19)
The covenant is reaffirmed with a solemn charge that Israel is to obey all commandments “with all your heart, and with all your soul” (26:16). In return, Mar-Yah promises to set Israel “high above all nations … in praise, in name, and in honour” (verse 19). The Scriptures are not claiming that Israel possesses ethnic superiority. Rather, this concerns their vocation. Israel is chosen not for privilege but for responsibility—to bear the Name of Mar-Yah among the nations.
For those in Yeshua, this calling expands to the nations themselves, grafted into the covenant olive tree (Romans 11:17). The people of the New Covenant are likewise called to holiness, to be “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9). Yet the root remains the same—the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and its fulfilment in Yeshua.
The Ceremony at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal (27:1–26)
Mosheh instructs that upon crossing the Jordan, Israel is to set up large stones coated with lime, inscribed with all the words of Aurayta. An altar is to be built on Mount Ebal, and sacrifices offered. The inscribed stones signify permanence and visibility. Aurayta is not hidden but publicly displayed, engraved upon the very landscape of the land.
The tribes are divided between the two mountains, Gerizim for blessing and Ebal for cursing. The Levites proclaim a litany of curses upon hidden sins—idolatry, dishonouring parents, oppression of the weak, perversion of justice, secret immorality. The people answer, “Amen.” By this liturgical response, Israel acknowledges that obedience and disobedience both carry consequences.
This duality of blessing and curse is central to covenant theology. It foreshadows Paul’s teaching that “as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse” (Galatians 3:10), quoting directly from this passage. Yet Mshikha redeems from the curse, being “made a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). The very mountain where curses were pronounced finds its reversal at Golgotha, where Yeshua bore the malediction to bring the blessing of Abraham upon the nations.
Blessings and Curses (28:1–68)
This chapter shows in vivid detail the blessings of obedience and the curses of disobedience. The blessings promise fruitfulness, victory, and abundance: “Blessed will you be in the city, and blessed will you be in the field” (28:3). Yet the curses, far more numerous, warn of disease, famine, defeat, exile, and even despair of life itself.
The imbalance between blessings and curses reflects a theological truth: sin brings ruin far more swiftly than righteousness brings prosperity. The covenant is a living bond, and to break it is to unleash chaos. Indeed, much of Israel’s later history, including exile to Babylon and the destruction of the Second Temple, may be read in the light of these warnings.
Yet these curses also foreshadow the sufferings borne by Yeshua on behalf of his people. He endured poverty, scorn, flogging, the piercing of hands and feet, the dereliction of soul—all the covenant curses gathered upon the Righteous One, so that through him, covenant blessings might flow to Israel and the nations.
Renewal of the Covenant in Moab (29:1–8 [Hebrew 28:69–29:8])
The parashah concludes with a covenant renewal in the plains of Moab. This is not a second covenant but a reaffirmation, extending the Sinai covenant to a new generation who will enter the land. Mosheh recalls Mar-Yah’s mighty acts including the deliverance from Egypt, the preservation in the wilderness, the defeat of Sihon and Og. These historical reminders anchor the covenant in memory.
The Aurayta teaches us that covenant obedience is grounded in gratitude for what Alaha has already done. The past deliverances are guarantees of future faithfulness, provided Israel abides in loyalty.
For the Assembly in Yeshua, this recalls the Eucharistic thanksgiving. The anamnesis of his death and resurrection, remembered in bread and wine, is the ground of our covenant renewal each time we gather. Just as Israel renewed covenant in Moab before entering the land, so we renew covenant in the Body and Blood of Yeshua as we await entry into the New Creation.
Conclusion
Parashat Ki Tavo is both solemn and hopeful. It binds thanksgiving with covenant loyalty, generosity with holiness, and blessing with obedience. It warns of the terror of apostasy, yet it also anticipates the redemption brought through Mshikha, who bears the curse so that the blessing may abound.
For Israel, the offering of first-fruits and the tithe sanctified the life of the land. For the nations, Yeshua as First-fruits sanctifies the hope of resurrection. The covenant renewal in Moab prepared the people for the land, just as our continual renewal in Maran Yeshua prepares us for the world to come.
We are called to walk in faithfulness, to bless the poor and the stranger, to remember the mighty works of Mar-Yah Alaha, and to live as a holy people, marked with his Name, awaiting the consummation when blessings overflow and curses are no more.