Re'eh Audio Recording. Leviticus 23:21 and Numbers 28:26 ordain a holy convocation in which the Israelites were not to work. Their choices are often couched in these terms, as adults use a system of reward and punishment as motivation for action and correct behaviour. [172], Chapter 10 of Tractate Sheviit in the Mishnah and Jerusalem Talmud and Tosefta Sheviit 8:311 interpreted Deuteronomy 15:110 to address debts and the Sabbatical year. "Food and Faith: The Ethical Foundations of the Biblical Diet Laws: The Bible has worked out a system of restrictions whereby humans may satiate their lust for animal flesh and not be dehumanized. The Rabbis taught in a Baraita that once the people of Upper Galilee bought a pound of meat every day for an impoverished member of an affluent family of Sepphoris. Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:46, Tosefta Sanhedrin 14:16, and Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 111b13b interpreted Deuteronomy 13:1319 to address the law of the apostate town. For you love that sort of thing, O Israelites declares my Lord God.". One can choose to turn to good or evil. We read the statement Hashem makes concerning placing free-will in our hands, we can choose the blessing or the curse, as our heart desires. Rather, the Rabbis taught that the purpose of Deuteronomy 11:29 was to indicate that the blessings must precede the curses. Rabbi Zera questioned the ruling, but the Gemara cited the definitive ruling: It was stated that Rabbi Helbo said in the name of Rav Huna that with regard to a (forbidden) egg (cooked with permitted ones), if there are 60 besides the (forbidden) one, they are (all) forbidden, but if there are 61 besides the (forbidden) one, they are permitted. When the poor man saw them moving the door to make their donation, the poor man went to greet them, but they fled and ran into a furnace from which the fire had just been swept. domesticated or not i.e. . [89] King Solomon dedicated the Temple in Jerusalem on Sukkot. Asaph said in Psalm 80:14: "The boar of the wood ravages it." All rights reserved. A Midrash catalogued the wide range of additional capabilities of the heart reported in the Hebrew Bible. [262], The parashah is discussed in these medieval Jewish sources:[263], In his Mishneh Torah, Maimonides hinged his discussion of free will on Deuteronomy 11:2628, "Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse." Keep the Pesach offering to God, your God; for that is the eternal reminder of the time when God took you out of slavery to freedom. It Disappears (5779), Parshas Reeh Segulos, Kosher and Not (5772), Parshas Reeh The Pitfalls of Private Spirituality (5771), How Long Must The Tzitzis Strings Be? The message of Sefer Devarim is, yes, create structures courts, judges, officers, priests, kings but what really matters is how each of you behaves. In truth, everything depends on whether a person invites the upper force to be next to him. Dedicate an Article [247], Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah argued that Jews must mention the Exodus every night, but did not prevail in his argument until Ben Zoma argued that Deuteronomy 16:3, which commands a Jew to remember the Exodus "all the days of your life," used the word "all" to mean both day and night. [48] A closed portion ends with Deuteronomy 15:11. When we are in a state of love and bestowal upon each other, we discover that common force in Nature; it appears to us. "[246], Tractate Beitzah in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws common to all of the Festivals in Exodus 12:327, 4349; 13:610; 23:16; 34:1823; Leviticus 16; 23:443; Numbers 9:114; 28:1630:1; and Deuteronomy 16:117; 31:1013. Remember that you were once a slave in Egypt when God redeemed you. . The Gemara interpreted the words of Deuteronomy 14:12, "And these are they of which you shall not eat," to refer to birds slaughtered pursuant to Leviticus 14. . Rabbi Judah taught that the words "you . ", Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society, "The Inclusio and Other Framing Devices in Deuteronomy IXXVIII. > The Danger of Mockery. The Sages, however, said (as Rava explained their position) that the community should offer the pauper assistance as a gift, and then if the pauper declines the gift, the community should extend funds to the pauper as a loan. Rabbi Elazar reasoned from the common use of the term "child of Belial" that the context was the same in both verses. An earlier version of this website was dedicated in the memory of Brian Roden, Shmuel ben Benjamin HaCohen zl.The Rabbi Sacks Legacy Trust is a charity registered in the UK, charity number 1152781. The blessing referred to in the Torah is the good life that will ensue if we follow the word of God. Create a Memorial It is possible to think that all the blessings must precede all the curses; therefore the text states "blessing" and "curse" in the singular, and thus teaches that one blessing precedes one curse, alternating blessings and curses, and all the blessings do not precede all the curses. [24] The third reading and a closed portion end here with the end of the chapter. Sacrifices can only be offered in one centralized location. [14], In the continuation of the reading, Moses made clear that even as God gave the Israelites more land, they could eat meat in their settlements, so long as they did not consume the blood, and so long as they brought their offerings to the place that God would show them. . A Baraita taught that because Deuteronomy 12:1011 says, "And when He gives you rest from all your enemies round about," and then proceeds, "then it shall come to pass that the place that the Lord your God shall choose," it implies that the commandment to exterminate Amalek was to come before building of the Temple. (5774), There Must Be an Anochi in Here Somewhere! [111] But Rabbi Judah deduced from the words "beyond the Jordan" in Deuteronomy 11:30 that Gerizim and Ebal were some distance beyond the Jordan. All that a person needs is to want the correction. 2002-2023 My Jewish Learning. ", Laura M. Rappaport. Kugel inferred from Finkelstein's findings that these highlanders shared some ideology (if only a food taboo), like modern-day Jews and Muslims. It is a nature of bestowal, a nature of love of others, a global world. ", Should Cheeseburgers Be Kosher? [155], The Gemara noted the paradox that mother's milk is kosher even though it is a product of the mother's blood, which is not kosher. [168] The Mishnah asked until when a field with trees could be plowed in the sixth year. While the government legislates laws to protect the weak in society, a truer indicator of a societys morality is in the voluntary sector, where citizens on their own initiative act morally and organise groups who can care for the vulnerable in society. Rabbi Judah said that it must have (at least) two scales and one fin (to be clean). By this Divine plan, God blotted out the traces of idolatry, and established the great principle of the Existence and Unity of God. God forbade the abdominal fat of cattle (in Leviticus 3:3), but permitted it in the case of beasts. ", "35.8 Million Adults and Children in Slavery Worldwide. The name of the Parshah, "Re'eh," means "See," and it is found in Deuteronomy 11:26. Henceforth we must know, see how to tell our corrected desires toward others from the uncorrected ones. Cholim Prayers for Those in Need, Make a Donation [102], The parashah is discussed in these rabbinic sources from the era of the Mishnah and the Talmud:[103], The Rabbis taught that the words of Deuteronomy 11:26, "Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse," demonstrate that God did not set before the Israelites the Blessings and the Curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 to hurt them, but only to show them the good way that they should choose in order to receive reward. The listing of festivals in Exodus 23:1417 and 34:1823 appear to provide evidence for the independent existence of the Festival of Unleavened Bread. . Uniquely it had God as its liberator and lawgiver, its sovereign, judge and defender. The name of the Parshah, "Re'eh," means "See," and it is found in Deuteronomy 11:26. "[97] "While Jeroboam was standing on the altar to present the offering, the man of God, at the command of the Lord, cried out against the altar" in disapproval. Filed under Torah Portion Deuteronomy, 11:26-16:17 This Week's Torah Portion | Aug 01 - Aug 07, 2021 - 23 Av - 29 Av, 5781 In A Nutshell Britain is not ruled by We, the people. It is ruled by Her Majesty the Queen, whose loyal subjects we are. How Parashat Re'eh illuminates the necessity of peace for growth of a nation. Aaron Gross, Richard H. Schwartz, Roberta Kalechofsky, and Jay Levine. What is the work of the Creator, theTemple? [154], The Mishnah taught that they buried meat that had mixed with milk in violation of Exodus 23:19 and 34:26 and Deuteronomy 14:21. (6) Monolatry, forcing the people to bring to God the sacrifices that they had been making out in the field to goat-demons (satyrs) or other gods. [283], James Kugel reported that Israel Finkelstein found no pig bones in hilltop sites starting in the Iron I period (roughly 12001000 BCE) and continuing through Iron II, while before that, in Bronze Age sites, pig bones abounded. Moses may have had this festival in mind when in Exodus 5:1 and 10:9 he petitioned Pharaoh to let the Israelites go to celebrate a feast in the wilderness. "[127] When Samuel had a bad dream, he used to quote Zechariah 10:2, "The dreams speak falsely." But the Gemara questioned the conclusion that one who cannot talk cannot learn, recounting the story of two mute grandsons (or others say nephews) of Rabbi Johanan ben Gudgada who lived in Rabbi's neighborhood. But the sages did not allow it. Thereupon, Rava exclaimed at the coincidence, apologized to the pauper, and invited him to come and eat. > What Is the Most Important Characteristic of a Leader? Tractate Chullin in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of kashrut in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14:321. The common force that appears within us is called the conquering of the land because at that time we can enter our egos with the quality of bestowal and begin to conquer all of our desires. Without a blessing, as Ezekiel 44:30 can be read, "To cause a blessing to rest on you for the sake of your house" (that is, for the sake of your wife). Re'eh Torah Reading. In England, Locke distinguished between liberty, the freedom to do what you may, and licence, the freedom to do what you want. Har HaMoriah. All we need is to correct our egotistical desire into bestowal, love, and mutual guarantee. The difference is that Britain is not a covenant society whereas America is: its earliest key texts, the Mayflower Compact of 1620 and John Winthrops address on board the Arbella in 1630, were both covenants, built on the Devarim model. In the 21st century, isn't this pretty hard to relate to? "Related Prohibitions: Swine Breeding and the Study of Greek.". Rabbi Jonathan Sacks discusses simcha (you can see discussion of Re'eh in previous years here. Moses explains the laws of kosher food, and he details the three pilgrimage festivals: Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot. Von Rad understood Deuteronomy 12:1319 in connection with King Josiah's planned expansion reflected in 2 Kings 23:15 and 19, arguing that Deuteronomy 12:1319 adapted an earlier Northern text to Judean conditions, possibly envisaging David's increase of territory (as reflected in 1 Kings 8:65) and especially the former Canaanite plain in the west, which had no Israelite sanctuaries. As the curses were in general and particular terms, so the blessings had to be in general and particular terms. Once when a pauper applied to Rava for support, Rava asked him of what his meals consisted. After the Israelites set up the Tabernacle, high places were forbidden, and priests performed the services. Explaining how this apparent contradiction is resolved, Maimonides said that just as God desired that fire rises upward and water descends downward, so too, God desired that people have free choice and be responsible for their deeds, without being pulled or forced. Aristotles ethic is about virtue, and much of what he has to say is of permanent value. Some believe that the propinquity of the dates of the two Festivals led to their confusion and merger. > Discerning Our True Intentions New! It is not going to work because it is ourheartsthat need correction, and not acting with our hands and legs. When the Israelites came to Nob and Gibeon, high places were again permitted. Maimonides said that everything happens in accord with God's will, and, nevertheless, we are responsible for our deeds. 1st and 2nd Aliyot: Moshe instructs the Chosen People to eradicate any remnant of idolatry and strengthen all aspects of service to G-d. All offerings must be brought to the Chosen place, the Bais Hamikdash, so that worship is an act of humility and selflessness, rather than a self-indulging need. To the people, to theTemple. Rabbi Johanan said: Both deduce this from the same verse. The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these sources: Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. For you are a people consecrated to the Lord your God. Learn more here! But I am also responsible for what you do. We did it in the desert, meaning in the state of the desert within us, through the light ofHassadim. Tractate Sukkah in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of Sukkot in Exodus 23:16; 34:22; Leviticus 23:3343; Numbers 29:1234; and Deuteronomy 16:1317; 31:1013.