B´nei Israel Congregation, Costa Rica
On Dreams and the Story of the Milk-Maid
This week’s parashah starts with the words Ki tavo, “When you enter the land…” (Deut. 26:1). The parashah speaks in the future tense, encouraging the people to reflect on how their life will be when they get to the land of Israel. They left Egypt years ago, destined to settle in the Promised Land. Before their arrival, God encourages them to imagine how their life will be there.
What will life be like when I arrive at the land of Israel? What will I do? How will I live? And so many other questions that you ask yourself, whenever you arrive at an unknown place or start a new project.
When I think about this aspect of the parashah, I am reminded of the famous story of the milk-maid, who carried a pail of fresh milk, dreaming about all the things that would happen to her if she could sell the milk on her head. Finally, as we all know, the pail came tumbling down and all her dreams were cut short. I never completely understood the moral of the story; does it say it is bad to dream, fantasize, and imagine a different future?
Unlike the story, Parashat Ki Tavo encourages us to imagine, to dream and reflect upon what we expect of ourselves when we reach something we have waited for, feared, and yearned for so long. It is true that the maid’s imagination went amok and that when the milk was spilt, all her dreams shattered. But she collected milk every morning, and if it didn’t happen that day, it could happen any other day; if people hold fast to their dreams, they will not crumble just because one day they spilt a milk pail.
In fact, the second advice delivered by our parashah is that, whenever we arrive at a new place or complete another project, we should acknowledge the problems or obstacles we faced during our journey. When they fulfilled the mitzvah of Bikkurim and brought the first fruits harvested from the promised land, among other things, they were required to say, “The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us” (Deut. 26:6).
It is important to remember the sufferings of the past when we finally achieve our goals in life. This shows us, precisely, that sometimes the milk on which all our hopes were grounded, is spilt; however, it is possible for us to stand up once and again, in order to reach the desired horizon. Notwithstanding the sufferings in Egypt and the different obstacles faced in the wilderness, the people could finally arrive at their dreamt of land.
Following the story of the milk-maid, it is true, as is often said, that the girl’s dreams were a little vain and conceited. The Torah, on the other hand, offers us a third advice: that it is very important to be thankful for having arrived at the place we arrive, for having the joy of seeing the first fruits of the harvest with our own eyes. They had to be collected in a basket and brought to the great spiritual center, joyfully thanking God:
“… you shall take some of every first fruit of the soil… put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God will choose to establish His name (26:2). […] And you shall enjoy… all the bounty that the Lord your God has bestowed upon you and your household (26:11).”
So, the first thing we have to do is relinquish pride and vanity, believing ourselves to be masters of everything, so as to be thankful for the fruits obtained. Abarvanel. Rambam, and other commentators agree that the exact meaning of this mitzvah of Bikkurim is to remove our pride and arrogance, once we have arrived at the promised land.
It is not by chance, then, that we always read this parashah in the month of Elul, the month in which we are preparing for the Days of Awe. In this process of introspection, it is important to consider our dreams, to acknowledge the sufferings we have experienced and the fruits we are now gathering, and be thankful for all that. To enjoy our fruits and, at the same time, give up arrogance and pride, leading us to nobler and humbler lives.
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