Ouestions for the Shabbos Table: RE’EH, DEVARIM 11:26

RE’EH, DEVARIM 11:26–16:1

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In the Parshah, worship of Hashem is centralized: At 12:11, Hashem states that He will choose a place for Him to dwell; where all sacrificial offerings will be brought.

וְהָיָ֣ה הַמָּק֗וֹם אֲשֶׁר־יִבְחַר֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֥ם בּוֹ֙ לְשַׁכֵּ֤ן שְׁמוֹ֙ שָׁ֔ם שָׁ֣מָּה תָבִ֔יאוּ אֵ֛ת כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָֽנֹכִ֖י מְצַוֶּ֣ה אֶתְכֶ֑ם

“And it will be, that the place the Lord, your God, will choose in which to establish His Name there you shall bring all that I am commanding you…”

This is where we brought our sacrifices to Hashem; it is forbidden to make offerings to Hashem in any other place. The Chumash refers to this place of worship as either the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, or the Mikdash, the Temple or Sanctuary.

The root of the Mishkan is לְשַׁכֵּן “shachen” - dwell. Think of the Mishkan as a dwelling place for the Divine Presence, and implies a closeness and love.

The root of the Mikdash is "kadosh" – holy. Holiness implies a distancing. It is related to the idea that Hashem is High above all high, to the extent that it is not even possible for us to understand His greatness.

The roof of the Mishkan was covered by special hides. The Mishkan served Bnei Yisrael until the destruction of Shilo, some 383 years after Bnei Yisrael entered the Land of Israel. The Rambam calculates that this soft-roofed structure stood for 14 years in Gilgal and 369 years in Shilo. Then King Solomon constructed the Mikdash, a structure with a permanent roof.

The Mishkan was portable. When it moved from an area, the area lost its holiness. In contrast, the site of the Mikdash never loses it sanctity, ever after the Mikdash’s destruction.

Where does Hashem dwell now?

Is He everywhere?

Is He in you?

I think pending the 3rd Temple (if ever), Hashem is in Israel with His Nation, with His people. We have returned from Exile to our homeland.

It is clearly redemption.

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Parshat Re'eh contains one of the clearest indications of Torah sheb’al peh, תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל־פֶּה‎,The Oral Law,

תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל־פֶּה‎ is the verbal instructions given to Moshe (along with the written Torah) at Mt. Sinai.

Chapter 12, Verse 21 says that meat must be slaughtered “in the way I have commanded you,” but the laws of shechita are not found anywhere in the Torah! Clearly, they were commanded but not recorded – that is the very definition of the Oral Law.

The Oral Law is the foundation of that which separates B’nei Yisrael from the nations of the world. Many, many nations are connected to the Written Law, whereas the Oral Law remains uniquely ours. The Oral Law is a Torah of life. It envelopes a person from the time he rises in the morning until the time he goes to sleep. Because the Oral Law is a Torah of life, it is for every Jew. It is not focused on one segment of Jewish society but on each and every Jew.

A proof text is Exodus 24:27 -

כִּי עַל-פִּי הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה, כָּרַתִּי אִתְּךָ בְּרִית--וְאֶת-יִשְׂרָאֵל

Hashem says to Moshe: "Because on the mouth of these words I have written a covenant for you and Israel".

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In the Parsha there is a warning given about listening to a false prophet:

13:2 –“If there will arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of a dream, and he gives you a sign or a wonder,

and the sign or the wonder of which he spoke to you happens, [and he] says, "Let us go after other gods which you have not known, and let us worship them,"

you shall not heed the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of a dream; for the Lord, your God, is testing you, to know whether you really love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul”.

In the Book of Jeremiah there is a poignant encounter with the false prophet Hananiah. In terms of background it begins at Chapter 26:6 where Hashem tells Jeremiah that Nebuchadnezzar is Hashem’s servant and is doing Hashem’s will.

“And now, I have given these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and even the beasts of the field I have given to him to serve him”.

The warning continues at verses 9 and 10:

“And you, heed not your prophets or your diviners or your dreams or your soothsayers or your sorcerers, who say to you, saying, "You shall not serve the king of Babylon."

For they are prophesying falsely to you in order to remove you far from your land, and so that I will drive you out and you will perish”.

In Chapter 28 there is a confrontation between Hananiah and Jeremiah in which Hananiah refutes Jeremiah’s prophesy and says falsely at Verse 11:

“And Hananiah said before the eyes of all the people, saying: So said the Lord: So will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, in another two full years, off the neck of all the nations. And Jeremiah the prophet went on his way”.

Verses 15-17 conclude the confrontation:

“And Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet: The Lord did not send you, and you assured this people with a lie.

Therefore, so said the Lord: Behold I send you off the face of the earth; this year you shall die, for you have spoken perversion against the Lord.

And Hananiah the prophet died in that year, in the seventh month”.

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We learn the rudiments of the kashrut of animals. These laws are of the variety that are called Chukim, laws beyond rationality. We obey them because HaShem told us so:

14:6 – “And every animal that has a split hoof and has a hoof cloven into two hoof sections, [and] chews the cud among the animals that you may eat.

14:9 - these you may eat of all that are in the waters; all that have fins and scales, you may eat.

14:11 - You may eat every clean bird”.

Many may wonder as to which birds are considered “not” clean?

Generally, these are birds that are cruel, perhaps warlike. A question arises as to the song “Sing a Song of Six Pence”, whether or not black birds are kosher? In as much as a black bird bit off the Maid’s nose, we know the answer. As to the culinary regimen of the King and Queen, I think they need an upgrade.

https://youtu.be/oL9Qrg0pE50

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In Parshat Re'eh we learn at Devarim 15:7 the basis for צֶדֶקה...social justice.

" If there will be among you a needy person, from one of your brothers in your gates, in your land the Lord, your God, is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, and you shall not close your hand from your needy brother."

כִּי-יִהְיֶה בְךָ אֶבְיוֹן מֵאַחַד אַחֶיךָ, בְּאַחַד שְׁעָרֶיךָ, בְּאַרְצְךָ, אֲשֶׁר-יְהוָה

אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ--לֹא תְאַמֵּץ אֶת-לְבָבְךָ, וְלֹא תִקְפֹּץ אֶת-יָדְךָ, מֵאָחִיךָ,

הָאֶבְיוֹן

Rabbi Saks has an excellent video on הצֶדֶק as expressed in Parshat Re’eh:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CBz8NeuAXs

Check it out.

From the verse in the Haftorah portion, at 54:13, the prophet Isaiah says:

וְכָל־בָּנַ֖יִךְ לִמּוּדֵ֣י יְהֹוָ֑ה וְרַ֖ב שְׁל֥וֹם בָּנָֽיִךְ

“And all your children are Hashem’s teachers, and boundless is your children's peace”.

It seems to me that one of our tasks is to teach the nations of the world about Hashem.

How successful have we been in completing this task?

Over half of the world's population believe in monotheism...not too bad.

Moreover. In order for our children to teach, they must first have been taught as per the commandment (Devarim 6:4):

“And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children,”

We are obligated to teach our children. Hire a teacher if you are unable to teach. And if you do not know enough, figure out a way for you to learn so that you can give it over to your kids.

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Here is a little taste of something I found in this week's reading:

In the Haftarah portion, Isaiah 54:11-12, we learn some mineralogy, a subject near and dear to my heart

הִנֵּ֨ה אָנֹכִ֜י מַרְבִּ֚יץ בַּפּוּךְ֙ אֲבָנַ֔יִךְ

“…behold I will set your stones with stibnite,...”.

פּוּךְ֙ is the cosmetic mineral called stibnite. Stibnite is a sulfide mineral containing antimony has been used as mascara or eyeliner for thousands of years. It is also called kohl or כּוֹחַל.