Ki Tavo: Zemer of The Week

אַשְׁרֵינוּ מַה טּוֹב חֶלְקֵנוּ, וּמַה נָּעִים גּוֹרָלֵנוּ, וּמַה יָּפָה יְרֻשָּׁתֵנוּ
How fortunate we are – how good is our portion, how pleasant is our lot, and how beautiful is our inheritance.

Source: Morning prayers, in Le'olam Yehei Adam before Pesukei D'Zimra.

Ashreinu reminds us that spiritual reflection is not only about identifying what needs to change. It also means recognizing and appreciating what is already good. That echoes the surprising message of Vidui Ma'aser in Ki Tavo: acknowledging what we have done right can deepen our gratitude, responsibility, and commitment to preserve it. Before asking only what we should Start or Stop, Ashreinu helps us appreciate what is already precious – and therefore what we should Keep.

If you want a more-traditional zemer:

כל מקדש שביעי

This zemer first appeared in the Machzor Vitry, compiled by Simcha ben Shmuel of Vitry (died 1105). The author, Moshe, hid his name in the initials of the second words of the first three stanzas. The zemer praises Shabbat observers and asks Hashem to bless them.

After the opening stanza, the lines of the zemer follow an א-ב order, ending in צ; the version in the Machzor Vitry includes one more stanza that has the remaining four letters of the א-ב. Each stanza ends with a verse from Tanach.

Central elements of this parsha include the blessings (and mirroring curses) that we will receive, the varieties of simcha that should infuse our lives and our worship of Hashem, the ways in which our relationship with Hashem should feel fresh to us, and the commandment to erect Torah-engraved rocks in Eretz Yisrael.

Some of the zemer’s connections to the parsha are as follows:

· “י” line: “מבואו ועד צאתו” (“From his arrival to his departure”) and “ה” line: “לצאת … לבא” (“departing … entering”) – One of the central blessings in the parsha is in Devarim 28:6: “ברוך אתה בבואך, ברוך אתה בצאתך” (“Blessed are you in your arrival, blessed are you in your departure”).

· “ש” line: “שמחם בבנין שלם” (“Delight them with the building of Yerushalayim”) – This phrase is central to the parsha in two ways:

o Three times the parsha mentions the delights of Eretz Yisrael (“Eretz zavat chalav u’devash”) – in Devarim 26:9, 26:15, and 27:3.

o Simcha (“joy” or “delight”) is also a recurring theme. For example, you should rejoice from all of the good that Hashem gives you (Devarim 26:11), you should rejoice when you cross the Yarden River and bring Olah offerings to Hashem (Devarim 27:7), you should serve Hashem with simcha to help avoid receiving the curses (Devarim 28:47).

§ The theme of simcha is also repeated in the zemer in its “ב”, “ו”, and “ל” lines.

· “ו” line: “ושמחים ושמרל” (“And glad to safeguard it”), “נ” line: “ליום השביעי זכור שמרו להק” (“To uphold ‘zachor v’shamor’ for the seventh day”), and 2nd line of opening stanza: “כל שומר שבת” (“Whoever protects the Shabbat”) – Rashi says that the word (and conjugation of) “שמור” in Devarim 27:1 is meant to highlight that when we observe mitzvot, we should feel their current-day, ongoing presence in our lives.

o Rashi reiterates this message in Devarim 26:16, about the phrase “This day, Hashem commands you…”

o This is also true at the level of the national covenant: Rashi to Devarim 27:9 says, “Every day, the mitzvoth should be in your eyes as if you have entered the covenant with Hashem that day.”

· “ח” line: “חרותה ליום השביעי” (“Engraved with [the commandments about] the seventh day”) – When Bnai Yisrael enter the Land, they are supposed to engrave the Torah on plaster-covered rocks (Devarim 27:2-3).