Parashat Ki Tavo: Toward a Jewish Ethic of an ‘Opportunity Economy’[1]

What does our parashah say about an “Opportunity economy”?  In recent presidential campaigns, the Democratic candidate has invoked the notion of an opportunity economy, which I assume means an American economic system that allows everyone the freedom to compete in a free marketplace, a mantra ironically  that for many decades was invoked by Reaganite free market Republicans.  It doesn’t mean the equal distribution of outcomes, although some might claim that, but building an economy that ideally works for the vast majority of Americans, and not a relatively small economic elite.

Why this message might be resonant is because some Americans no longer believe in an American promise of opportunity and see the world as unjustly unequal and skewed towards not an aristocracy of blood, but an aristocracy of wealth.  The power imbalance is so striking that for many, an ethic of conscientious work does not seem to be rewarded or even valued.  In some industries, people are reduced to cogs in an impersonal machine.  No wonder there is so much social unrest and uncertainty, the toxic brew that threatens to rip our country apart.   It is ‘the other side’, ‘the other tribe’, that is responsible for whatever the economic and social ills which our country faces.

I am not by any means an economist and would not dare to prescribe an economic program for this country.  Some readers could speak to this far better than me.   However, I do want to bring an historical perspective on the nature of economic growth.  For most of human history, the per capita GDP was essentially flat.  It is only in the past few hundred years that we have seen meteoric economic growth with emergent private markets, technological advancements, and global industrialization.   Today a GDP growth of one percent is a sluggish economy, while in certain eras an entire century might not see that form of growth.  For most of human history, the vast majority of humanity lived at subsistence level, and wealth was concentrated in small elite passed on from generation to generation.^[2]   In essence, despite the vicissitudes of the markets at any point in time, we are living in a time not of scarcity and starvation, but of plenty and ‘opportunity’; the standard of living for most of humanity has vastly improved for most. Yet ironically, so many romanticize an imagined past, describing the best behind us.

Perhaps at stake is not merely higher inflation and rising costs, but a poverty of moral and spiritual imagination.    In essence, we fail to ask spiritual questions.  Are we put in this world to serve an impersonal free market economy and maximize our personal gain or is the economy intended to maximize the opportunity and freedom required for the self-actualization (and therefore happiness) of all its citizens.  In other words, what are the goals of the amassing of wealth?  To what end?  What is a need and what is a desire?  What is the role of the government in helping us to think about these questions?  Should the marketplace be a place dictated by moral values, or simply driven by the pursuit of a singular goal of maximizing wealth?  Our parashah clearly opens with the former.

The Torah does not produce an economic system that can be reduced into the categories of ‘socialism’ or a ‘free-market economy’, although people can cite different parts of the Torah to prove whatever contention they believe.  An agrarian society, the Torah clearly points to the notion that every family is entitled to an inheritance in the land, but at the same time the Torah is well aware of those who are vulnerable- the -Levite, stranger, widow and orphan,’ and we are enjoined to turn to them and ensure their needs are provided for.   Despite not prescribing a specific economic order, the Torah does provide a spiritual attitude towards the very notion of wealth itself, a value which is meant to guide human interactions in the land of Israel.   While wealth can clearly ensnare and morally corrupt an individual, at the core wealth is an expression of Divine blessing.

Our parashah opens up on the holiday of Shavuot, the harvest festival.  The farmer after a long investment, a long planting season, is to bring his first fruits to the sanctuary, and later in Jewish history the Temple in Jerusalem.  He brings them as an offering to God, but unlike other sacrifices and dedications, the Torah instructs that he must first make a declaration,  relating a specific narrative.  This foundational narrative still inspires us to this day, providing the core of the Haggadah text on Passover:

My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation.  The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us. We cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and the Lord our God heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and our oppression.  The Lord freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents, bringing us to this place and giving us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Wherefore I now bring the first fruits of the soil which You, the Lord, have given me. You shall leave it before your God and bow low before your God (Deut. 26:5-6).

The pilgrim comes to Jerusalem bringing the fruits of his labor, products of his hard work. Yet he is commanded to provide a greater context of this donation.  It is not simply that he must ‘pay his dues’, but rather to recognize that all of his wealth is the product of God’s blessings and providential hand.  Furthermore, he must speak of a time in which he was oppressed, was rootless and homeless; he must feel the very vulnerability that one who is established would rather forget.   In this declaration, the pilgrim truly recognizes that what he produces is not simply ‘the might of my own hands’, but rather that this produce is the expression of God’s beneficence.  The land and its bounty is an expression of God’s continual engagement, a land ‘flowing with milk and honey.’  It is a narrative speaking of an unexpected journey from slavery to freedom, from oppression to relief, from scarcity to blessings, from homeless to home, and places God- not himself- in the middle of this drama.

I am sure that some years were better than others, that some years were mired by famine or political instability or even war and violence.  Yet the same story must be told, a story of scarcity -even oppression, to increasing blessing and fortune.  It is clear that the story is not simply a history lesson, but rather intended to instill a certain spiritual disposition, for as a result the Torah continues that you must ‘enjoy all the bounty in which God has given you.” Later in our parashah, the Torah goes as far as to say that the downfall of the people and their subsequent exile from the land was because ‘you failed to serve God in joy and gladness in the abundance of everything’ (Deuteronomy 28:47)  This principle is actually institutionalized in Jewish law, which mandates according to the majority opinion that one who has recently experienced the death of a close relative (onen) may not bring the first fruits, presumably because he is consumed with sorrow at that moment. ^[3]  In another rabbinic reading, the first fruit declaration must be accompanied with the Levites singing, a clear expression of inner joy.^[4]

The element of joy emanating from the inner life of the individual is to flow outward, as our parashah commands us to rejoice with the “Levite and the stranger.”  Why?  Because both the Levite and the stranger are deprived of property and therefore opportunity in an ancient economy.  Understanding one’s own vulnerability in the past as well as their fortune now, opens up the gates of compassion towards their fellow human being.  They do not ‘do nice things’ for the Levite and the stranger, but rather ‘rejoice with them.’  Far from seeing them as ‘welfare recipients’, we feel mutuality with those without, and freely share with them.  (This is not only a religious virtue, but also promotes social stability.  When those experiencing real lack of capital and opportunity are not only deprived but ignored, discontent will rise and eventually bubble over into the streets.)^[5]

The message of the Torah is true for us today, the wealthiest country in all human history.  If an ancient commonwealth of mainly subsistence farmers are to express gratitude, joy and generosity, than the solution to our societal discontent cannot be only economic, but spiritual.  Can we really be sure that the solution to our existential problems and discontent will be solved by one or another economic policy per se or should we as individuals and societies seriously consider the spiritual values required to see one’s life as blessed and with purpose, the very elements that lend themselves to defining a life worth living.  In other words, we must not merely increase wealth but increase happiness and joy through living lives of meaning.  When we amass goods in this world, are we already looking to amass more, or do we have a spiritual framework though which we determine how to use that Divine gift for the betterment of all.  In these questions, no government and no policy will provide that meaning.

In conclusion, the Democratic candidate consistently is invoking a ‘campaign of joy, but what does that precisely mean? The joy in which the Torah speaks is a joy born in recognition of the Divine blessings we have, a joy in which one wants to share with those who do not.  In our troubled times, let us commit ourselves to be that source of joy to all those around us.  Without ignoring the real troubles we face moving forward, let us also construct narratives of hope- like the declaration of the first fruits- which empower us to work towards the changes we all seek.

Shabbat shalom

[1] I am indebted to The Tikvah Fund in inspiring some of the ideas presented here during their 2024 Rabbinic Symposium, “Faith, Culture and the Morality of the Marketplace,’ held  Sept. 8-10, 2024, in New York.  I also want to make clear that while some ideas I am making are relevant in this campaign season, they are absolutely not intended to promote any specific program or candidate.

[2] See Estimates of World GDP, One Million B.C.-Present [1998]: My View as of 1998: The Honest Broker for the Week of May 24, 2014 (bradford-delong.com)

[3] B.T. Pesachim 36b

[4] B.T. Erchin 11:a

[5] Tocqueville in his description of the vast resources of the North American continent which shapes its economic character and entrepreneurial spirit of the colonist comments, “The influence of well-being is exerted still more freely on Americans than on foreigners.  The American has always seen before his eyes order and public prosperity linked to one another and arching in the same step” (Democracy in America, ch. 9).