Re’eh – Peninim on the Torah

עשר תעשר את כל תבאות זרעך היוצא השדה שנה שנה

Sruly Schnair In Re'eh, 5786

You shall tithe the entire crop of your planting, the produce of the field, year by year. (14:22)

Maaser, taking a tithe of our produce year-by-year, is a mitzvah which is not only an obligation, but its accompanying reward provides incredible bounty for the one who observes it. Chazal teach aseir ti’aseir, aseir bishvil she’tishasher; “Tithe so that you will become wealthy.” The reward for sharing our bounty with others is that our own general economic situation will be positively enhanced. Yalkut Shimoni (Re’eh 893) makes a striking comment. “If you merit (and properly tithe your produce), the result will be that you will go out to your field in tranquility. If you do not give maaser, however,…

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ראה אנכי נתן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה

Sruly Schnair In Re'eh, 5786

See, I present before you today a blessing and a curse. (11:26)

What comes across as a simple statement – almost a mission statement for the Jew — is the basis for much penetrating insight into the quality and nature of life. When one peruses Chazal and the accompanying commentaries, he develops a perspective on life that explains how we have survived throughout the millennia, despite the many physical and spiritual challenges that have played a critical role in our connection to Hashem. I found one Chazal and a comment by the Alter, zl, m’Kelm, which are inspiring. Devarim Rabbah (4:2), Ha’sayaf v’ha’sefer yardu k’ruchim m’ha’Shomayim… “The scroll and the sword descended…

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ראה אנכי נתן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה

Sruly Schnair In Re'eh, 5786

See, I present before you today a blessing and a curse. (11:26)

The era of Moshe Rabbeinu’s leadership is coming to an end. Klal Yisrael stands poised to enter the Promised Land. Our quintessential leader and Rebbe delivers his final messages, mussar and guidance. This parsha begins with a message for life that is both timeless and deeply profound. He declares: “See, I present before you a blessing and a curse.” The text itself begs elucidation. If Moshe intended to present two entirely separate paths, he should have stated the words brachah or klalah, blessing or curse. Why does he say blessing and curse, almost as if the two are intertwined? Perhaps…

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שבעת ימים תחג לה׳ אלקיך ... והיית אך שמח

Sruly Schnair In Re'eh, 5785

A seven-day period shall you celebrate to Hashem, your G-d…. And you will be completely joyous (16:15)

Rashi comments that v’hayisa ach sameach is not a command, but rather, a promise that we will fulfill the mitzvos of celebrating the festival amid joy. Chazal (Pesachim 71A) derive from here that the joy inherent in our celebration of the festival applies to the last night as well. The commentators question how ach, which in Hebrew is used to exclude, is used in this context to include the last night of the Yom Tov for joyful celebration. Throughout Shas, however, the word is used to exclude. In a homily rendered following the Holocaust which decimated European Jewry, HoRav Shmuel…

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כי יסיתך אחיך ... לאמר נלכה ונעבדה אלהים אחרים... לא תאבה לו, ולא תשמע אליו, ולא תחוס עינך עליו, ולא תחמל, ולא תכסה עליו.

Sruly Schnair In Re'eh, 5785

let us go and worship the gods of(If your brother will entice you secretly… saying “others” … you shall not accede to him, and not hearken to him, and your eye shall not take pity on him, you shall not compromise nor conceal him. (13:7–9)

The Torah singles out the meisis – person who entices others to idolatrous worship – for particularly severe treatment, as befits a sin of this egregious nature. Such a person poses a profound threat to the spiritual fabric of Klal Yisrael. His actions are much more than a personal transgression, but rather, an unpardonable assault on the collective faith and identity of the Jewish people. The punishment meted out to the meisis underscores the importance of maintaining the purity of faith within the Jewish community and how we abhor anyone who would dare undermine the status quo. The laws that…

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ראה אנכי נותן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה. את הברכה אשר תשמעו... והקללה אם לא תשמעו

Sruly Schnair In Re'eh, 5785

Behold! I set before you this day a blessing and a curse… A blessing – if you obey (the commandments) … And a curse – if you do not obey (the commandments). (11:26–28)

In a homily (Erev Rosh Chodesh Elul, 1941, Warsaw Ghetto) passionately rendered to a group of Jews interned in the Ghetto, the Piaseczna Rebbe, z”l, focused on the opening pesukim of our parsha. Hashem instructs us to see the justice and truth in all things – blessing for one who obeys and observes, and curse for one who does not. The result of this perception will be that one will see “this day” that Hashem has set before us, that He is behind and involved in everything that goes on in our lives, both blessing and curse. A Jew must…

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שבעת ימים תאכל עליו מצות לחם עני כי בחפזון יצאת מארץ מצרים

Sruly Schnair In Re'eh, 5784

For seven days, you shall eat matzos, because of it, the bread of affliction for you departed from the land of Egypt in haste. (16:3)

Is it bread of affliction or bread commemorating the haste in which Bnei Yisrael left Egypt? Veritably, the Jewish People, as slaves to Pharaoh, ate only matzah, which is considered poor man’s bread, because it takes longer to digest and allows the person to feel “satiated” longer. This was their bread of affliction. When they left Egypt, they left in a hurry; thus, their dough could not rise long enough to become bread. Sforno wonders why the Torah gives two reasons for lechem oni. He explains that Hashem took all the afflictions of Bnei Yisrael into consideration, and, as a…

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כי עם קדוש אתה

Sruly Schnair In Re'eh, 5784

For you are a holy nation. (14:2)

“Holy nation” is not simply an appellation describing the Jewish People, but, additionally, it is an imperative which obliges us to live in a specific manner. When one is holy, he cannot do what he wants. He has a responsibility, not only to himself and the collective Jewish People, he also has an obligation to Hashem. People are influenced by the actions of others. When one Jew sanctifies Hashem’s Name, it inspires others to follow suit, because kedushah, holiness, is intrinsic. Hashem is the source of holiness, and it is from our connection to Him that we draw kedushah. Every…

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השמר לך פן תעזב את הלוי

Sruly Schnair In Re'eh, 5784

Beware for yourself lest you forsake the Levi. (12:19)

Chazal (Chullin 85a) relate that Rav tells us that every day a Divine Voice emerges from Har Chorev and says: “The entire world is sustained by the merit of Chanina ben Dosa, My son, and for Chanina, My son, a kav of carob is sufficient to sustain him for an entire week, from Shabbos to Shabbos.” Rashi comments that this is referring to the holy Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa in whose lifetime this Heavenly Voice emerged. The fact that people were unaware of Rabbi Chanina’s dire poverty is very telling. Imagine, one of the greatest Torah giants of all time…

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רק חזק לבלתי אכל הדם כי הדם הוא הנפש. ולא תאכל הנפש עם הבשר

Sruly Schnair In Re'eh, 5783

Only be strong not to eat blood – for the blood, it is life – and you should not eat the life with the meat. (12:23)

Rashi comments: “You may not eat meat that was torn from a living animal.” The Torah prohibits us from eating eiver min ha’chai, a limb cut from a living animal. The Sefer HaChinuch offers the shoresh, root, of the mitzvah, that we not train ourselves in the trait of cruelty, which is a most disgusting trait. Indeed, we can perform no greater cruelty than to cut a limb off a living animal and eat it. The Chinuch continues with a mussar, ethical character, directive. “I have already written numerous times concerning the great benefit that we derive in our acquisition…

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עשר תעשר את כל תבאות זרעך היוצא השדה שנה שנה

You shall tithe the entire crop of your planting, the produce of the field, year by year. (14:22)

ראה אנכי נתן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה

See, I present before you today a blessing and a curse. (11:26)

ראה אנכי נתן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה

See, I present before you today a blessing and a curse. (11:26)

שבעת ימים תחג לה׳ אלקיך ... והיית אך שמח

A seven-day period shall you celebrate to Hashem, your G-d…. And you will be completely joyous (16:15)

כי יסיתך אחיך ... לאמר נלכה ונעבדה אלהים אחרים... לא תאבה לו, ולא תשמע אליו, ולא תחוס עינך עליו, ולא תחמל, ולא תכסה עליו.

let us go and worship the gods of(If your brother will entice you secretly… saying “others” … you shall not accede to him, and not hearken to him, and your eye shall not take pity on him, you shall not compromise nor conceal him. (13:7–9)

ראה אנכי נותן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה. את הברכה אשר תשמעו... והקללה אם לא תשמעו

Behold! I set before you this day a blessing and a curse… A blessing – if you obey (the commandments) … And a curse – if you do not obey (the commandments). (11:26–28)

שבעת ימים תאכל עליו מצות לחם עני כי בחפזון יצאת מארץ מצרים

For seven days, you shall eat matzos, because of it, the bread of affliction for you departed from the land of Egypt in haste. (16:3)

כי עם קדוש אתה

For you are a holy nation. (14:2)

השמר לך פן תעזב את הלוי

Beware for yourself lest you forsake the Levi. (12:19)

רק חזק לבלתי אכל הדם כי הדם הוא הנפש. ולא תאכל הנפש עם הבשר

Only be strong not to eat blood – for the blood, it is life – and you should not eat the life with the meat. (12:23)

YEARS

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