This week’s Torah portion, Parshat Ki Tavo, begins with Moshe reminding the Jewish people of all the miracles G-d performed for them in Egypt. “But God did not give you a heart to know, or eyes to see, or ears to hear until this day” (Deuteronomy, 29:3). Moshe claimed that until now, they had not been equipped with the tools necessary to acknowledge all of these miracles before continuing to explain all of the minor miracles G-d has created for their benefit in the desert (i.e. maintaining the good condition of their shoes and clothes despite trekking through the desert for 40 years). This seems strange from the perspective of the learner. How could the people be unable to recognize the miracles being performed if they are directly being performed to them?
Many times in life, after doing something, you think to yourself, “what was I thinking at that time?” or even “I would have never done that now!” As life progresses, so do our perspectives. We can learn and grow from the experiences we have everyday.
Moshe thought the Jewish people’s faith in G-d was vulnerable because there was not any major display of G-d and His power. Even though they have already witnessed Him in action, they might look back at those memories and falsely give credit to something other than G-d. By stating that the Jewish people were receiving special miracles while travelling through the desert, Moshe wanted to remind them that G-d is the one who made all of those miracles and saved everyone from Egypt.
This week’s parsha represents a powerful message that we can incorporate into our lives every day. If we experience a miracle that G-d performed for us, we might not remember it with clarity. We must mentally revisit the event in order that we are able to remember how He has saved us and helped us an uncountable amount of times which makes our Emunah stronger every day.
Shabbat Shalom!
By: Sarah Safdie (11th grade)