Ki Tavo

Ki Tavo, Ki Thavo, Ki Tabo, Ki Thabo, or Ki Savo (כִּי־תָבוֹא—Hebrew for "when you enter," the second and third words, and the first distinctive words, in the parashah) is the 50th weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the seventh in the Book of Deuteronomy. It comprises Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8. The parashah tells of the ceremony of the first fruits (בִּכּוּרִים, bikkurim), tithes, and the blessings from observance and curses (תוֹכֵחָה, tocheichah) from violation of the law.

The parashah is made up of 6,811 Hebrew letters, 1,747 Hebrew words, 122 verses, and 261 lines in a Torah Scroll (סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה, Sefer Torah). Jews generally read it in September, or rarely in late August.

In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, (עליות, aliyot). In the Masoretic Text of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), Parashah Ki Tavo has four "open portion" (פתוחה, petuchah) divisions (roughly equivalent to paragraphs, often abbreviated with the Hebrew letter פ‎ (peh)). Parashah Ki Tavo has several further subdivisions, called "closed portion" (סתומה, setumah) divisions (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter ס‎ (samekh)) within the open portion divisions. The first open portion spans the first three readings. The second open portion contains all of the fourth and fifth readings and part of the sixth reading. The third open portion constitutes the balance of the sixth reading, which enumerates a series of curses. The fourth open portion is identical with the seventh reading. Closed portion divisions coincide with the first two readings. Closed portion divisions further divide the fourth, fifth, and sixth readings, and a string of 11 closed portion divisions set off a series of curses in the fifth reading.

In the first reading, Moses directed the Israelites that when they entered the land that God was giving them, they were to take some of every first fruit of the soil that they harvested, put it in a basket, and take it to the place God would choose. There they were to go to the priest in charge and acknowledge that they had entered the land that God swore to their fathers. The priest was to set the basket down in front of the altar. They were then to recite:

"A wandering Aramean was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there, few in number; and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous. And the Egyptians dealt ill with us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage. And we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice, and saw our affliction, and our toil, and our oppression. And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders. And He has brought us into this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the land, that You, O Lord, have given me."

They were to leave the basket before the altar, bow low to God, and then feast on and enjoy, together with the Levite and the stranger, the bounty that God had given them. The first reading and a closed portion end here.

In the second reading, Moses instructed that when the Israelites had given the tenth part of their yield to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, in the third year, the year of the tithe, they were to declare before God:

"'I have put away the hallowed things out of my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to Your commandment that You have commanded me; I have not transgressed any of Your commandments, neither have I forgotten them. I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I put away thereof, being unclean, nor given thereof for the dead; I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God, I have done according to all that You have commanded me. Look from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the land that You have given us, as You swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey."