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PINTRODUCTION:
If You Need Something To Say At The Sabbath Table contains snippets from the weekly Torah portion. The goal of If you need something to say at the Sabbath Table is to bring more Torah to English speakers living in Israel and abroad.
For some who have recently immigrated to Israel, there may be the nagging sentiment of being in a foreign country. If you need something to say at the Sabbath Table is intended to do away with that sentiment, for you not to be a stranger in a strange land.
And for those living abroad, it is a means to come closer to the Divine.
If however you are living in the Land, you are already a step closer.
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shat Re'eh contains one of the clearest indications of Torah sheb’al peh, the
The Oral Law, (שבעל פה חורה 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 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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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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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.
סַּפִּירִֽים are saphires.
וְשַׂמְתִּ֚י כַּֽדְכֹד֙ שִׁמְשֹׁתַ֔יִךְ
וּשְׁעָרַ֖יִךְ לְאַבְנֵ֣י אֶקְדָּ֑ח
“And I will make
your windows of agate and your gates of garnet stones…”
כַּֽדְכֹד֙ may be agate.
אֶקְדָּ֑ח may be a dark red garnet.
