If you were to ask me about “the God I don’t believe in,” I would tell you that I don’t particularly resonate with the idea of divine reward and punishment. That’s the version of God whom we imagine gives out blessings to those who do good things and actively curses those who do bad. How, then, you might wonder, do we reconcile this week’s parsha, Ki Tavo?
In Ki Tavo, Moses lists for the Israelites the blessings that they (and we!) will receive if they follow the commandments and the curses they will incur if they do not. On its face, this parsha does appear to support the image of our God as a direct judge who rules in a binary of gift or grievance. However, if we look closely at the verses (Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15) in which the promise and warning are given, we can see that this section describes a different approach to blessing and curse altogether.
א וְהָיָ֗ה אִם־שָׁמ֤וֹעַ תִּשְׁמַע֙ בְּקוֹל֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ לִשְׁמֹ֤ר לַעֲשׂוֹת֙ אֶת־כָּל־מִצְותָ֔יו אֲשֶׁ֛ר אָנֹכִ֥י מְצַוְּךָ֖ הַיּ֑וֹם וּנְתָ֨נְךָ֜ יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ עֶלְי֔וֹן עַ֖ל כָּל־גּוֹיֵ֥י הָאָֽרֶץ׃
ב וּבָ֧אוּ עָלֶ֛יךָ כּל־הַבְּרָכ֥וֹת הָאֵ֖לֶּה וְהִשִּׂיגֻ֑ךָ כִּ֣י תִשְׁמַ֔ע בְּק֖וֹל יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃
1 Now, if you obey your God יהוה, to observe faithfully all the divine commandments which I enjoin upon you this day, your God יהוה will set you high above all the nations of the earth.
2 All these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you will but heed the word of your God יהוה:
טו וְהָיָ֗ה אִם־לֹ֤א תִשְׁמַע֙ בְּקוֹל֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ לִשְׁמֹ֤ר לַעֲשׂוֹת֙ אֶת־כָּל־מִצְוֹתָ֣יו וְחֻקֹּתָ֔יו אֲשֶׁ֛ר אָנֹכִ֥י מְצַוְּךָ֖ הַיּ֑וֹם וּבָ֧אוּ עָלֶ֛יךָ כָּל־הַקְּלָל֥וֹת הָאֵ֖לֶּה וְהִשִּׂיגֽוּךָ׃
15 But if you do not obey your God יהוה to observe faithfully all the commandments and laws which I enjoin upon you this day, all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you:
These verses, which precede a list of blessings and a much longer list of curses, do not say that God will hand out blessings and curses; rather, they describe a functional attribute of the universe that God created. If we follow the instruction of our Torah and live a life in which we put good out into the world through maasim tovim (good deeds), then blessings will naturally abound. Conversely, if we walk a path apart from and against Torah, a path in which we let the yetzer hara (humanity’s evil inclination) be our guide, we will find that blessings elude us, leaving a vacuum for curses to fill.
As we approach the new year, may we focus on the good we can do, and may we walk a path that is paved with Torah. Just imagine the blessings we might bring when we act in true partnership with each other and with God! The world is waiting!