Summary of the Parasha

“When you come (Ki Tavo) into the land”, you shall bring the first fruits (bikkurim) of your produce to the Temple in a basket and make a declaration: “Arami oved avi”, the Aramean sought to destroy my father, we went down to Egypt, the Egyptians mistreated us, we cried out and God brought us out “with a mighty hand”, and brought us to this land flowing with milk and honey. This text is the heart of the Haggadah’s story. “You shall rejoice in all the good”, with the Levite and the stranger.

In the third year, after giving all the tithes, one makes the viduy ma’aser, a declaration of having given everything, and asks: “Look down from Your holy dwelling and bless Your people Israel”. Moses concludes: today Hashem and Israel have chosen each other; “you are His treasured people (am segulah)”.

After crossing the Jordan, large stones coated with plaster must be set up with the whole Torah written on them “very clearly” (in seventy languages, according to our Sages), and an altar built on Mount Ebal. Then the ceremony on Mounts Gerizim and Ebal: the Levites proclaim twelve curses on those who sin in secret (the hidden idol, one who dishonors his parents, moves a boundary, misleads the blind, perverts justice for the stranger…) and the people answer “Amen”.

Next come the blessings, “blessed shall you be in the city, blessed shall you be in the field”, and the long Tochachah, the curses if Israel turns away, up to exile and a return to Egypt in ships. It is read quietly and quickly, in a single aliyah, and many avoid calling anyone up by name for it. Moses concludes the covenant in the plains of Moab and recalls the miracles of the desert: “Hashem has not given you a heart to understand until this day”.

Summary of the Haftara

“Kumi Ori” (“Arise, shine”)
Text in Isaiah 60:1–22

The sixth haftara of consolation. “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of Hashem has risen upon you” (a verse in Lecha Dodi). While darkness covers the earth, nations will walk by your light, and your children will come from afar. The wealth of the peoples will flow to Jerusalem; its gates will stay open day and night. “Violence shall no longer be heard in your land”, “the sun shall no longer be your light by day… Hashem will be your everlasting light”. The haftara ends: “The smallest shall become a thousand… I, Hashem, will hasten it in its time” (be’itah achishenah), which the Talmud explains: if Israel is worthy, God will hasten the redemption; if not, it will come in its time.

Parasha-Haftara Connection

The parasha describes the arrival in the land and the first fruits offered with joy, then the possibility of exile; the haftara describes the final return, when the nations themselves will bring their wealth to Jerusalem. “You shall rejoice” becomes “arise, shine”.