Overview
of the Torah Reading
To be read on Shabbat
Re'eh - 25 Menacham Av 5786 /Aug. 8
Shabbat Mevarchim
Torah: Deut. 11:26-16:17
Haftorah: Isaiah 54:11-55:5 (3rd of the Seven Haftorahs of Consolation)
Pirkei Avot: Chapter 6
Re'eh
is the 4th Reading out of 11 in Deuteronomy and it contains 7442
letters, in 1932 words, in 126 verses
Re'eh
(Deuteronomy 11:26 - 16:17) opens with a blessing and curse being placed
before the Jewish people - our actions determine the outcome! The Jews
are reminded to obliterate idolatry from the Land and to offer sacrifices
only where permitted. Laws are given concerning slaughtering and eating
meat. The Jews are warned not to worship as the idolaters did. Punishments
of false prophets, missionaries, and apostate cities are discussed.
G-d calls the Jews His "children" and a "special nation"
which He chose from all the other nations. Next are listed laws of kosher
animals, fowl, fish and insects and the prohibition for cooking milk
and meat together. Also, laws of tithes and the Sabbatical year are
relayed, in particular, the relinquishing of debts. The Jews are reminded
not to withhold giving loans because of this, and will receive G-d's
blessing for doing so. Following this is a list of laws regarding slaves.
Additional laws that are listed: first-born "clean" animals
are dedicated to G-d; blemished animals are forbidden to be offered;
consuming blood is forbidden. Re'eh concludes with the laws of Pesach,
Shavuot and Sukkot.
An
Essay from
Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter, Director of Ascent
(for a
free weekly email subscription, click
here)
We
have a very interesting yet cryptic verse in this week's Torah portion
Re'eh, "When G-d your L-rd will enlarge your border as He told
you [He would] and you will say, ‘I will eat meat’, because
your soul desires to eat meat" [Devarim/Deuteronomy
12:20]. This law is explained in the Talmud [Chullin
16b] that during the time in the desert, bird meat (like quail)
was permitted. Animal meat that had been offered on the altar of the
Tabernacle was permitted but completely kosher ritually slaughtered
meat that was not from the altar was strictly forbidden. How do we understand
this and what can we learn and apply to our day to day lives?
Reading
the Torah, we can get the impression that during the forty years in
the desert there was always some war, crisis or challenge. This is far
from the truth. For the most part, the Jewish people were studying Torah
with Moshe Rebeinu [our Teacher] and the Elders, fulfilling the commandments
and serving G-d. This was G-d's will, to prepare them for their entry
to the holy Land and the challenges they would encounter there. In the
desert, all their needs were provided for. They did not need to be involved
in any way in the affairs of the physical world. Their only preoccupation
was with holy matters. This is why "They were forbidden from eating
‘meat of desire’," They did not need the coarse vitality
that eating meat gives. They did not have the necessary Divine powers
to refine and elevate the physical aspect of animal meat because they
did not yet have the ability to transform the Land.
Only after
the people of Israel entered the Land, when they were tasked with engaging
in the affairs of this world—plowing, sowing, and the like—were
they given the power to refine and elevate the physical world and all
its aspects. It was then that "They were permitted to eat ‘meat
of desire’."
This is
the meaning of, "For the L-rd your G-d will enlarge your borders."
In other words, when they enter the Land and G-d enlarges the boundaries
not just of the physical land, but of their spiritual powers also, they
will then have the ability to engage in eating "meat of desire"—
that is, meat that is not inherently holy—and to elevate it to
a state of holiness. With this added strength they would have the ability
to transform the world.
The Torah
is timeless - teaching for all times and all places. From what we have
learned above, there is also a lesson for a person's daily life: At
the beginning of the day, before and during prayer, it is forbidden
for a person to eat or engage in personal mundane matters [Shulchan
Aruch. Orach Chayim. 89. The only exception is in a case when in order
to pray with the appropriate intention and concentration eating is necessary],
since at that time he is in the state of "desert," like the
Jewish people before they entered the Land, not yet fulfilling their
complete Divine purpose, where "they were forbidden from eating
‘meat of desire’."
Only after
a person prays to G-d and goes, "From the synagogue to the study
hall" [Talmud. End of Brachot and MoedKatan, Tur,
Shulchan Aruch, and Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe, section 255]
to study Torah, is he in the state of "entering the land."
Through beginning the day with Torah and prayer, we receive Divine powers,
giving us what we need to transform the world. It is then that we can
eat, drink, and engage in business affairs, elevating physical and mundane
things to a state of holiness, so that they too become a dwelling place
and abode for G-d's Divine Presence.
In a similar
way, this can also be true throughout the day. If we feel we are not
completely able to fulfill our mission to make the world a dwelling
place for G-d - pause, re-center ourselves with prayer and Torah. This
will renew our strength and reveal our hidden but latent power to be
G-d's emissary. Then, with G-d's help, we will be guaranteed good results.
[Adapted
from Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Likutei Sichot – Collected
Talks. Volume 4. Page 1108]
Shabbat Shalom, Shaul
For
last year's essay by Rabbi Leiter on this week's Reading, see the archive.
FROM
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One sample:
Chasidic Masters
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Reaching
the Mountain of G-d.
By Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz, adapted from Shenei Luchot Habrit by Eliayu
Munk
Just as
on our earth there are two mountains, Mount Gerizim and Mount Eyval,
which symbolize blessing and curse respectively, so there are two parallel
mountains in the Celestial Regions.
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