Parshat Ki Tavo

The Mountain of Curse

Moshe ordered the people that soon after they crossed over the river Jordan, they should perform a ceremony of blessing and curse:

"When you cross the Jordan, the following shall stand upon Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. While the following shall stand upon Mount Eval for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naftali" (Devarim 27:12-13).

Sefer Yehoshua chapter 8 describes how Israel followed Moshe's instructions.

While Mount Evil is known as the "mountain of curse", its partner Mount Gerizim was witness to a curse a couple of hundred years later.

Sefer Shoftim records how Gidon, the judge who was offered, but turned down, the monarchy, had seventy sons. One of those children was called Avimelech. His mother was a "concubine from Shechem" (Shoftim 8:31).

Shechem was city whose inhabitants were not Israelite, but were nevertheless, Israelite citizenry. At times they were loyal to Israel, but at other times they were loyal to their Canaanite origins.

Avimelech approached them pointing out the benefits to them if they helped him seize the leadership of Israel and so they enabled him to hire mercenaries who helped him execute all his brothers, save the youngest, Yotam, who managed to escape.

And so "the inhabitants of Shechem and all Bet-millo assembled, and they went and made Abimelech king" (ibid 9:6).

Some time later, Yotam ascended Mount Gerizim and cursed the people in Shechem below. He told them a story of the trees approaching first the olive tree, then the fig tree and finally the vine, to be their king. All these trees that produce luscious fruits refused. Finally they approached the bramble who agreed to be their king.

The olive, fig and vine trees represent Gidon and his sons who refused the monarchy, while the bramble refers to Avimelech, who seized it.

The bramble is appropriate for Avimelech. It, like Avimelech, is produced by a mixture of seeds. It produces no fruit and its thorns prick those who approach it. More than that, it steals the water from the surrounding tress and destroys the wealth of the earth it grows on.

However, it does have redeeming feature, it can provide shade. Shade, or security, is something positive a ruthless dictator can provide his people. The needs of the people sometime require such leadership.

Yotam told the inhabitants of Shechem that if they made Avimelech their king because they needed this type of leadership, than all well and good, but they should note that if not: "let fire come out of the thorn, and consume the cedars of Lebanon" (ibid 15).

The bramble is a very dry bush with little moisture. In hot weather it can catch fire. When it does so, it destroys all the trees that surround it.

Yotam tells Shechem that that is the fate that awaits them. Indeed, that is what occurred.

It is difficult to know whether Yotam was cursing, prophesying or merely predicting this course of events, however, like this week's parsha, is teaching a life lesson of cause and effect.

We may benefit from the pleasure that unfaithfulness to God might bring us, but in the long term, the price we pay is not worth it. The sin can eventually consume us.

Rather then reaping the curse of Mount Gerizim, it would be more beneficial for us, to reap its blessing.

Last year's Sedra Short on Parshat Ki Tavo entiled: "The Return to Egypt", appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/08/parshat-ki-tavo-return-to-egypt-as-well.html.

Another Sedra Short on Parshat Ki Tavo entiled: "The Tochecha", appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/09/parshat-ki-tavo-tochecha-these-are.html.

Parshat VaYishlach

Israel and Shechem – a Varied Relationship

This week's parsha brings two explanations as to how Shechem became a possession of ancient Israel.

"Yaakov came safely [to] the city of Shechem…He encamped near the city. He bought the part of the field where he had pitched his tent from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred kesitas" (Bereshit 33:18-19). Israel took control of the area peacefully when Yaakov purchased the city from a noble Shechemite family.

However, in the next chapter, we see a different explanation: "Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that Yaakov's two sons, Shimon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword, and they came upon the city with confidence, and they slew every male. They slew Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword" (ibid 34:25-26).

Israel became masters of the city through violent conquest, in the aftermath of Shechem's violation of Dinah, Yaakov's daughter.

This was the beginning of Israel's strange relationship with this Canaanite city.

Historically, Shechem was different to other Canaanite cities. Regular Canaanite cities were city states, i.e. they were ruled by a king. Canaan's topography effectively allowed each city to remain self-sufficient and independent from each other. Indeed, Yehoshua conquers 31 kings (see Yehoshua Ch.12) in a tiny country barely the size of New Jersey. Indeed at least eight distinct nations lived in this land. Interestingly enough, Israel was the first nation to unite the land into one country.

However, Shechem's status was different. It was not ruled by a king: "Chamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city, and they spoke to the people of their city, saying, 'These men are peaceful with us'" (ibid 20:21). Note how Shechem and his father Chamor, have to persuade the inhabitants of Shechem to accept the agreement they had made with Yaakov's sons. Shechem might have been a leader of Shechem but he did not have ultimate power.

Interestingly enough, Shechem does not appear in the list of cities that Yehoshua captured. In fact, no conquest of Shechem is ever noted. Yehoshua even took all the people to make a covenant there (Yehoshua 8:30-35), and yet he does not fight with it. Moreover, from the Sefer Shoftim, it is clear that the people of Shechem were Israelite citizens, even though they were not Israelites.

There, Gaal Ben Eved inadvertently causes an uprising against Avimelech, Gidon's son and Israel's leader, saying: "'Who is Avimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Yerubbaal (Gidon)? … serve the men of Chamor the father of Shechem" (Shoftim 9:28). From this source it is clear that the inhabitants of Shechem were clearly descendents of Shechem's original inhabitants, and yet they were Israelite citizens.

How did this happen? It is unclear. I would like to suggest two possible explanations that are linked..

Firstly, we have already seen how Israel in Yaakov's day became the legal masters of Shechem. It is possible therefore, that Shechem already saw itself as loyal servants of Israel at the time of Yehoshua's conquest, and hence, there was no need to conquer it.

Secondly, I would like to suggest that the Shechemites were part of the Givon alliance, the people who tricked Israel into making a non-aggression pact: "The men of Israel said unto the Hivites…" (Yehoshua 9:7). The Givonites were Hivites. So was Shechem: "Shechem the son of Hamor, the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her" (Bereshit 34:2).

Simon and Levi tricked Shechem and took advantage of them. The Hivites then turned the tables and tricked Israel by making a treaty with Yehoshua. These people then caused havoc in Israel during the period of the Judges.

Perhaps the seeds to this incident were planted in this week's parsha.

Last year's Sedra Short on Parshat VaYishlah entitled: Reuven and Bilha" appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006_12_01_archive.html

Another Sedra Short on Parshat VaYishlach entitled "Struggling with the Present", appears at: http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2005_12_01_parshablog_archive.html