Parshat Ki Tavo: Unhewn Stones

September 12, 2025

Deuteronomy 27:5

וּבָנִ֤יתָ שָּׁם֙ מִזְבֵּ֔חַ לַיהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ מִזְבַּ֣ח אֲבָנִ֔ים לֹא־תָנִ֥יף עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם בַּרְזֶֽל׃

There, too, you shall build an altar to the Lord, your God, an altar of stones. Do not wield an iron tool over them.

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Our Rabbis teach that the ancient mystics used to prepare for hours before reciting their daily prayers. The meditation preceding prayer was a way to fully appreciate the fact that they were going to address the creator of the universe. If we truly embodied the notion that we too are standing in front of our creator during services, how would we prepare ourselves?

One inclination might be to feel terribly unworthy, and a deep desire to polish our rough edges, so to speak. Indeed nobody is perfect. We have all made mistakes, done things that hold us back from believing ourselves worthy of standing before God. Perhaps we ought to deny that part of ourselves, pretend that that was not us when such a bad choice was made so we feel worthy of a relationship with God. This however, is not what we are called to do. Like the stones on God’s altar, we are called not to deny our imperfections but to sanctify them. Standing in prayer before God means entering the sanctuary as a full human being, imperfections, mistakes, foibles, and all; rough around the edges. In fact, if we pretend we are perfect, like stones which have been hewn and polished, we cannot be a conduit for the divine presence in this world. To believe we must be perfect to pray is missing the point. It’s our imperfections that make a relationship with God possible.