Parashat Ki Tavo

When you enter the land and harvest its first fruits, bring them in a basket to the sanctuary and recite the short history that begins "My father was a wandering Aramean," the passage at the heart of the Passover Haggadah. A similar declaration accompanies the tithe of the third year. Moses tells the people to set up large stones on Mount Eival with the Torah written on them, and describes the ceremony of blessings and curses between the two mountains. A long list of blessings for obedience is followed by a longer list of curses, the tochacha, read quietly in synagogue. Moses closes by telling the people that only today, after forty years, have they gained a heart to understand.