Month: September 2025

Ki Tavo (כִּי-תָבוֹא – “When You Enter”)
^{Readings: Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8 • Isaiah 60:1–22}

The parashah opens with the law of the first fruits (bikkurim), which every farmer is to bring to the place chosen by God, accompanied by a declaration of gratitude. It then presents the law of the tithe (ma‘asser), designated for the Levites, orphans, widows, and foreigners.

The Torah is inscribed on stones at Mount Ebal, marking the covenant with God, and sacrifices are offered there. The Levites proclaim a series of warnings, to which the people respond “Amen.” Blessings for obedience are pronounced on Mount Gerizim, while curses for transgression are declared on Mount Ebal.

In the haftarah, the prophet Isaiah envisions a restored Jerusalem, radiant with divine light, drawing the nations toward her in a spirit of peace, gratitude, and spiritual awakening.

Isaiah 60:1
קוּמִי אוֹרִי כִּי בָא אוֹרֵךְ
Arise, shine, for your light has come.

In 1947, in the Judean Desert near Qumran, a young shepherd accidentally discovers a cave hidden among the cliffs. Inside, ancient jars contain manuscripts over two thousand years old. These texts shed new light on our understanding of that era.

Among the treasures unearthed is a complete scroll of the Book of Isaiah (1QIsaᵃ), meticulously written on sewn sheets of leather. Measuring 7.34 meters in length, it contains all 66 chapters of the book, in a remarkably well-preserved state.

Dated to the 2nd century BCE, the manuscript has been restored with exceptional care, preserving both its structure and legibility. Today, it is housed in the Israel Museum, in the wing known as the Shrine of the Book, where it continues to enlighten scholars and visitors with its unique testimony.

Ki-Tetsé (כִּי-תֵצֵא – When you go out)
^{Deuteronomy 21:10–25:19 & Isaiah 54:1–10}

Ki-Tetsé contains 74 commandments, making it one of the most densely packed portions of the Torah in terms of legal instruction. These laws govern various aspects of Israel’s social, familial, and moral life. The parasha concludes with the commandment to remember what Amalek did—a call to vigilant memory in the face of hostility.
The haftarah, drawn from the book of Isaiah, offers a consoling vision: Jerusalem, likened to a barren woman, is called to give birth to a multitude. The prophet reaffirms the eternal covenant between God and His people, and the unwavering divine compassion that endures beyond exile.

Deuteronomy 21:10
כִּי-תֵצֵא לַמִּלְחָמָה עַל-אֹיְבֶךָ
When you go out to war against your enemies…

The Cantonist^[1] Synagogue of Tomsk was built in 1906. It was confiscated by Soviet authorities in 1930 and converted into municipal housing. In 2013, it was finally returned to the local Jewish community.
Inside, the original wooden paneling remains visible beneath a light whitewash. The restored Holy Ark is adorned with a curtain embroidered with the initials of Tzvi Hertz Yankelowitz, one of the founding cantonists of the synagogue.
This solid wooden structure, a rare surviving example of Siberian Jewish religious architecture, underwent full restoration to become a museum of Judaism in Siberia. Today, it stands as one of the last preserved examples of this unique architectural style.

^[1] The cantonists were Jewish boys forcibly conscripted into military schools of the Russian Empire beginning in 1827, under Tsar Nicholas I. An imperial decree required Jewish communities to provide a quota of children, often between the ages of 8 and 12, for military training. At age 18, these boys were drafted into the army for a term of 25 years. The system was abolished in 1857 under Tsar Alexander II.