Ki Tavo: The Massive Reminders that We Have Forgotten

We don’t live Biblical Judaism. I’ve said this many times before, but I like to point out examples in the text that demonstrate my point. I think it highlights how Judaism changes and evolves. We sometimes think of religion as static and immutable. Ancient, stuffy, and unwilling or unable to shift and morph as the world around it changes. Yet this is very much not the case. It may not move at the pace that each of us wants, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Case in point, the giant, plastered obelisks that tell about our Jewish history. Remember those? The ones  you can see outside every synagogue and JCC? Yeah, me neither. Yet our Torah portion tells us, “As soon as you have crossed the Jordan into the land that Adonai, your God, is giving you, you shall set up large stones. Coat them with plaster and inscribe upon them all the words of this Torah” (Deut. 27:2-3). In fact, these massive stone monuments were erected three separate times according to the Book of Joshua - once by the Jordan river, again on Mount Eyval, and then at their first resting place in the Holy Land, Gilgal. So why don’t we have these any more?

Sure, the original ones crafted by Joshua are long gone. However, isn’t this a commandment just like any other in the Torah? Is this one an ethical violation or unseemly to us today, that we should abandon the practice? No, I don’t think so. I concede that it would be challenging to find a stone large enough to hold the entire text of the Torah, or a scribe able to write it small enough. That is not my point though. This is a mitzvah ordained by God through Moses and upheld by Joshua, and recorded in multiple places in our Tanach, our Jewish Bible.  We just don’t observe it any longer. The rabbis wrote commentary on it, but no one ever suggested recreating these boulders outside synagogues, whether in Israel or around the world. These forgotten reminders should, well, remind us of something, and it’s important: In the next couple of weeks, when you’re sitting in shul during the High Holidays, recall that the prayers in front of you are the ones that remain. Others were removed or lost along the way. Some of the ones we retained are centuries old, if not older, while others (especially English readings) were only added in the last decade or two. As we grow, our religion and theology grow with us. Our Jewish practices and beliefs escort us along the winding road of human history and along all the paths of our individual lives. It is true that we gaze back at history on the High Holidays, but it’s still through the lens of modernity and with all the memories and experiences of our people across time. Our tradition is ancient, but it’s also right here with us today. Never forget that. 

And if you were ever at risk of it slipping your mind, you can always look to the giant, plastered obelisks to remind you! Oh, wait. You can’t. My bad.