Musings on Parshat Re’eh

Following are some of the ideas, insights and interpretations that emerge from our weekly Chumash learning group at the Young Israel of Oceanside, Long Island. We cite sources when possible. Some of our interpretations may derive from ideas we may have seen elsewhere, possibly without attribution. Or we may simply have forgotten the source. For this we apologize. We invite your comments, observations and participation.

OVERVIEW:

Contains 55 Mitzvos… Blessings and Curses… need for eradication of idolatry In Eretz Yisroel… uniqueness of Jerusalem… permission granted to eat non-sacrificial meat... beware the seducers: false prophet; family; city of idol worshipers…forbidden foods…tithes: Maaser Sheni (Second tithe); Maaser Ani (for poor);disposal of undistributed tithes…Shmeita (every seventh year) annuls loans…need for kindness: charity; loans to poor; gifts to slaves upon their release…holiness of first born animals… celebration of  the  three festivals  through simcha(happiness) and Aliyas Regel (pilgrimage  to Jerusalem)

“Re’eh anochi nosayn lefnaychem hayom bracha uklala…es habracha aher tihsmu…v’haklala im lo sishmu” are the opening words of the Parsha, “Behold I have set before you today a blessing and a curse…the blessing if you listen…and the curse if you do not listen…”

Re’eh-from the root to see, meaning to have insight and understanding

Anochi- I, Hashem. Use of this pronoun instead of Ani may refer back to the Anochi of the Ten Commandments, reminding the Israelites of the unique Covenant and relationship with Hashem

Nosyan- in present tense: ongoing promise from Hashem

Es habracha- “on the condition “ that you listen (Rashi).The es means Hashem gives the Blessings to us now, in advance, confident we will behave as expected, abiding by His laws. Bahya (11th century) notes that es is an expression of certainty.

Im lo sishmoo- But if, perchance, we should not live up to this expected behavior, then we will be punished. Bahya notes that im is an expression of doubt.

Nechama Leibowitz in Studies in Devarim concludes that the divergence in usage (es vs. im ) underscores the inherent Goodness  (Ki Tov) in the world is for us to enjoy so long as we are obedient to Hashem. Man’s decision to disobey Him is the root cause of evil and misfortune.

Rav Kook on  eating meat

The eating of meat during the desert wanderings was permitted only as part of the bringing of Offerings on Hashem’s altar. But in this week’s Parsha, Hashem permits the eating of meat for enjoyment (Basar Taava—meat of desire) upon the Israelites arrival in the Holy Land. “ Ki yarchiv Hashem elokecha es gevulcha…Ki s’avey nafsheca le’chol basar”(When the Lord your G-d shall enlarge your border...your soul longs for meat) then you may eat meat on the condition that “ you slaughter of your herd and flock...in the way I (Hashem) have prescribed” .

Nechama Leibowitz notes that the wording suggests that the permission is being granted grudgingly, with strict regulations, and that we are only given a special dispensation to slaughter animals for consumption and not a total dominion over the animal world.

This interpretation is consistent with Rav Abraham Isaac Kook’s world view. Rav Kook(1865-1935), the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Palestine, believed  that Creation filled the world with Goodness (Ki Tov) and Harmony between Man and the Animal Kingdom, the two highest life forms. Indeed, the Torah specifies that Man’s food is to consist of herbs and fruit! But with the moral decay that precipitated and then followed the Flood, this harmony was shattered and all Mankind was permitted to be carnivorous. The killing of animals for food is not an ideal state. But since Man could no longer control himself, says Rav Kook, the Torah channeled this murderous aggression to animals only, in the hope that Man’s uncontrolled appetite for bloodshed  would no longer  find expression in killing his fellow Man. In his view, all the Torah’s dietary laws were designed to arouse our feelings of injustice committed against the animal kingdom.

It is interesting that the Torah introduces the permissibility of  eating meat with the words Ki yarchiv, i.e. “when the land will be expanded” suggesting, perhaps, that the desire for meat is triggered by the expansion of one’s wealth (Land). Richie Snitkoff,  a member of the Chumash learning group, suggests that it is expansion of one’s own boundaries (i.e., feeling of superiority, arrogance) that brings on the desire for meat.

Furthermore, the Torah describes the desire for meat as a Teiva, a lusting after, a word sounding like Toayva , an abomination--  both words  having negative connotations. Does the Torah prefer we remain vegetarians to  help us recapture the primordial state of harmony with nature and close relationship with Hashem that existed immediately after the Creation? Rav Kook was a vegetarian.

Why the Dietary Laws?

Rav Jacobson in his Meditations on the Torah surveys some approaches to answering this question.

·       The Torah says these laws exist so that we shall be holy.

·       Maimonides  opines that by avoiding the loathsome, unhealthy  prohibited animals we will gain physical and mental hygiene.

·       Ramban notes the need to avoid ingesting the cruel, clawing habits of  prohibited birds and animals

·       Abrabanel thinks that prohibitions are to assure welfare of our soul

·       Shadal believes that it is a matter of achieving self control, quoting the Stoic philosopher Epictetus who said sustine et abstine  (“bear up under hardship and contain yourself from  indulgence”) are the keys to sin avoidance. The Torah laws are designed to help us acquire self-control as a habit. Aaron Barth, a contemporary Israeli commentator elaborates that the purpose is to help us gain mastery over our impulses. By pausing to examine the food we are about to eat we have the opportunity to convert our impulse into our  will.

·       Philo of Alexandria (20BCE-50CE) is of the opinion that the restrictions are about internalizing what we ingest. Bovine are permitted. They are called ruminants, meaning they chew their cud over and over again moving it from stomach to mouth and back. We, too, are encouraged to ruminate—to think things over, to turn over in our minds, “chew on it” until we arrive at the truth and internalize it. The split hoof shows that two seemingly same items  can be completely  different.

·       Ramban notes that permitted fish have fins and  have scales, in Hebrew Kaskeses which also means shield, protect. The fish with fins and scales tend to swim closer to the surface and are non-attacking, unlike the fish without fins/scales that are  bottom feeders, scavengers and aggressive and swim near the dark and murky bottom. The prohibited birds are aggressive and clawing. “We are what we eat” ( i.e., we absorb the character) and the Torah does not want us to absorb and internalize negative behavior.

·       Dr. Alvin Schiff thinks that “chewing the cud” is about eating and nourishing of our brain so we can think. The split hoof is a reminder for us to watch where we walk in life.  Jeff Benkoe of our learning group thinks the split hoof underscores the choices we face in our lives.

·       Richie Snitkoff notes another facet in that the intense  hunt itself to catch these prohibited attack  animals, fish and birds necessitates undesirable aggressive behavior in us.

Rabbi H. L. Berenholz