Shabbat Shalom from Rabbi Bradley Solmsen

We are getting closer and closer to the conclusion of our annual reading of the Torah. Toward the end of this week’s portion, Ki Tavo, Moses asks the people to assemble to ratify the covenant.

“Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: You have seen all that God did before your very eyes . . . Yet God has not given you a mind to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear, until this day.” (Deuteronomy 29:1–3)

Only toward the very end of our collective journey as a people do we gain the ability to fully understand, see, or hear all that we have been experiencing.

This has been a year full of challenging moments to process. I am sure, for each of us, it has also included moments of celebration. The text is saying that sometimes we need to take time to process, we need to take time to fully digest before we have a full understanding of and ability to fully appreciate what we have experienced. Full comprehension only comes after time to reflect and, possibly, with an invitation to come together.

As we reach the end of the Jewish year and approach our High Holidays, all of us will benefit from the extra ability that this sacred time bestows on each of us for greater understanding, clearer vision, and the ability to truly hear.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Bradley Solmsen

Director of Congregational Education