Ki Savo 26:3 · unit 1

Parashas Ki Savo · Passuk 26:3

The Complete Passuk

וּבָאתָ֙ אֶל־הַכֹּהֵ֔ן אֲשֶׁ֥ר יִהְיֶ֖ה בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֑ם וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֵלָ֗יו הִגַּ֤דְתִּי הַיּוֹם֙ לַיהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ כִּי־בָ֙אתִי֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר נִשְׁבַּ֧ע יְהֹוָ֛ה לַאֲבֹתֵ֖ינוּ לָ֥תֶת לָֽנוּ׃

And you shall come to the kohen who will be in those days, and say to him: I declare today to Hashem your God that I have come to the land that Hashem swore to our fathers to give us.

Chabad.org — 26:3

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Kiddushin 66b (and parallel Sifrei on “the kohen who will be in those days”).

Sefaria — Kiddushin 66b

E-Daf image — Kiddushin 66b

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
״אֶל הַכֹּהֵן אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם״ — כֹּהֵן שֶׁבְּדוֹרְךָ, וַאֲפִלּוּ אֵינוֹ כְּמֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן. אֵין לְךָ אֶלָּא כֹּהֵן שֶׁבְּיָמֶיךָ.

English: “To the kohen who will be in those days” — the kohen of your generation, even if he is not like Moshe and Aharon. You have only the kohen who is in your days.

In Sifrei / related: The phrase teaches that one must accept the authority of the kohen (and, by extension, the court) of one’s own time, without demanding the stature of earlier generations.

Type of Learning

Custom (diyuk on “who will be in those days”).

What Is Learned

The bringer must present the fruit to the contemporary kohen; fitness is measured by the office of the present generation, not by comparison with the founders.