Ki Tavo 5772

Moses enacts the ritual:  the people are divided into two groups by tribe, and each of them assembles at the foot of a mountain.  The priests read out a litany of blessings and curses, to which the people respond “amen.”

Blessings and curses—our lives are full of both.  From the expansive to the mundane, our days are comprised of triumph and torment, joy and frustration.  Both swirl around us, tap us on the shoulder, and change us.

With Rosh Hashanah a mere week and a bit away, now is the time to take stock of our lives.  In what ways are we blessed, and in what ways cursed?  More specifically, who has been a blessing to you in the year that will soon end?  How have you acknowledged them?  How have you been a blessing to others?  What curses do you live with?  How have you been a curse to others?  How have you cursed yourself?  And, perhaps most important of all—how can you turn your blessings into curses, so that next year will be a better year for you, your family, and your people?