Re'eh – Once Upon a Week

Read the transcript below, or watch a video of the teaching by Yehuda Bachana.

In Parashat Re’eh we continue Moses’ speech, before we enter into the Promised Land. The first verses re-emphasize our choice between good and evil. Afterwards, Moses continues with a long list of commandments that deal with a wide range of topics:

idol worship, paganism, false prophets, eating clean foods, and abstaining from eating unclean animals.This includes the explicit prohibition to eat pork, as it is mentioned specifically in this week’s portion:

In addition to the list of unclean animals, we read this interesting commandment:

We remember this commandment from Exodus:

In the Jewish world, this commandment is one of the most famous ones.This is the source from which the Jewish culture, and the Jewish kitchen, does not mix meat and milk in the same dish or meal.

Personally, I do not view this commandment as a prohibition to mix milk and meat together. The reason is that the wording of this commandment does not clearly prohibit this dietary combination.

And at the same time, there are Biblical examples of meals, where milk and meat were served together. For example, Abraham prepared a meal for the angels who visit him, which includ ed both milk and meat:

Yes, this verse is from before the giving of the Torah; and yet, the angels who were served this meal, did not say a word. Additionally, this verse was preserved in the Scriptures for future generations.

If indeed there was something improper, it would have been appropriate to mention, or even leave to this verse out, that controversial dietary detail. But instead, this verse was preserved as something eternally positive and true, as it points out the greatness of hospitality.

Another text that describes milk and meat being served and eaten together, can be found in the story of Absalom’ rebellion. David and his men are hungry and, on the run. they were served meat with cheese:

I view this commandment as a prohibition against cruelty to animals. This phrase prevents cruelty and certain forms of slaughter and cooking, where the baby animal is cooked in the milk of its mother - The mother’s milk, who was supposed to sustain the baby-animal’s life and provide its nutrition. He is not meant to be cooked in it.Others interpret this phrase as a way to prevent certain forms of idol worship.

That being said, the prohibition to mix meat and dairy products is a rabbinical ruling, and not a Scriptural command from God; nonetheless, this dietary rule did become a cornerstone of the Jewish culture and part of the defining characteristics of Judaism.

Each people and culture have the right to self-determination, and to establish its own unique traditions that serve and preserve that identity.The avoidance of mixing dairy and meat together is an ancient custom that is accepted by every stream of Judaism. Jews from every ethnicity and origin accept this custom, although some wait for 6 hours in between meals, others for 4 hours, and some (like the Dutch Jews) only wait one hour to eat dairy after a meat dish.Nonetheless, they all separate and wait between the consumption of milk and meat.

We should respect the traditions of our fathers, even if it is just for the sense of belonging and to preserve the identity that this tradition serves. It is just one more way to preserve our identity and the identity of our families, from generation to generation. The more ways and the more tools we have, the greater the chance for us to manage to preserve and pass on our identity.

Our Torah portion continues and speaks of more commandments, like the centralization of worship, the cancelation of debts, tithes and the three major festivals.The commandments for the holidays include the commandment to rejoice during Shavuot (Pentecost) and Sukkot:

Parashat Re’eh puts an emphasis on mutual care, and especially for those who are less fortunate. We can only fulfil the major festivals with the required element of joy. That joy reaches further, beyond our own joy, and requires us to spread our own joy and grant true care, especially to the needy of the society we live in.

We cannot truly celebrate nor fulfil these Biblical holidays without opening our hands, and hearts, to the strangers and weak that surround us.

Let's return to the beginning for a moment.Moses presents us with two options. The first one leads to blessing and a blessed life; whereas the second one leads to curse. Even though we are able to choose either path, God requires us to follow the right path.

Now, the good path may not seem very attractive nor easy, but it is worthwhile in the end. The following Midrash (or: rabbinical story) portrays this idea:

This rabbinical parable deals with several related topics. The first one being: walking in God's way. Perhaps it seems difficult at first, but that is the wise path that is good for us to pick. The second topic concerns

In my opinion, this parable is based on two known parables from the New Testament. The first one is:

The second parable is about Lazarus and the rich man:

The first parable is that of the narrow bridge, or of the narrow gate, in contrast with the wide gate. It points to the fact that - from a human perspective, looking at the future - people tend to picture faith-life as difficult and full of limitations. They see it as fixed and lacking freedom.Yet, when you begin to walk the way of faith, you discover that that way is easy, good and fulfilling. That road is full of confidence and hope, and leads to a secure future.But what about the boundaries?

As parents, we set boundaries that are important and good for the mental, emotional and physical development of our children. What makes us think that we do not need boundaries ourselves, as adults?

We all need boundaries and the Bible presents us with the right boundaries, along with the promise of success and blessing.

The road that seems wide and smooth, seems easy at first. However, it quickly leads to thorns, pain, despair, depression and a lack of success. This is because, those who take this road, do not keep the morals nor the boundaries of the Word of God, which serve to the benefit of our families and of society.

The road based on the Scriptures, may seem narrow, difficult and full of thorns at first. Yet, after crossing the hurdle, we discover a rich world with deep and stable foundations. A world that provides us with security and hope for the future. We actually discover that it is easy to walk when your conscience is clear.

The Rabbinical parable ends with:

This is where Yeshua’s parable of poor Lazarus comes in. In Luke chapter 16, Yeshua tells a parable about a rich man who enjoys this life and a poor man who suffers in this world. The poor man named Lazarus, sits by the entrance to the rich man’s house. He eats the scraps from the table of the rich man - meaning that Lazarus receives charity from the rich man.

The moral of the story is that no one is entirely bad, as the bad people also do good deeds. For that reason, the rich man is rewarded in this world, where he receives the payment for his good deeds. Even though his good deeds are few, they still should be rewarded.

On the other hand, there is Lazarus. He is not described as righteous or good; and yet, in Hebrew, Yeshua calls him Elazar - meaning: ‘God helped’, which points to God’s presence and help to Lazarus.

As mentioned before, there is no one who is entirely bad; likewise, no one is entirely good, either. Therefore, Lazarus pays for his sins in this world. Years pass and both men pass on: the rich man to eternal disgrace and poor Lazarus to eternal rest at the side of our father Abraham. The parable ends, as the rich man wants to warn his 5 brothers, so they won’t end up in the same horrible place. The answer he gets is:

The decisive answer here is that they have the Word of God. The Word of God leads us to Messiah and to faith. Truly, people already had been expecting the Messiah long before Yeshua. They asked Yeshua: “Are you the Messiah? Are you the promised One?” The Scriptures point us to Messiah Who will redeems us.As believers, our answer is:

“Yes, Yeshua is the Messiah! He is the promise!”For a good and blessed life, we must walk in the way of faith that Yeshua the Messiah lights for us. That way is the Word of God, given to us from Genesis until the end of Revelation at the end of the New Testament.

We pointed out that the rich man in Yeshua’s parable gives charity to the poor Lazarus. This issue becomes a focus point in our Torah portion, as it is written:

Further on, it is written that the poor, the disadvantaged, the strangers and the needy will always be amongst us. This is why we must open our heart and hands, showing mercy and love to those in need. Here as well, success and blessing are promised to those that open their hands and their heart.

We mentioned earlier that we cannot even celebrate our holidays properly without opening our hands and granting joy to those in need around us. In fact, the Torah declares war on our selfishness and greed. As The Torah intervenes in our personal life and our finances, with the sake of society at heart.

Firstly, because mutual responsibility enables even the unfortunate to live with dignity – regardless if they fell through fault of their own, or not.Secondly, this is in order to build a healthier society, that functions on mutual responsibility and care.

Parashat Re’eh mentions the second tithe, of three tithes. We begin by tithing 10% and bring that to the House of God. With these products, or this money, we feed our family. So even though, this tithe remains within the family, we are commanded to set it aside. We do not set it aside for ourselves, but for our family. In fact, this tithe is the first step to teach us to give:

We spend the money of the second tithe on our family and create joy together, by eating and drinking together at our family feast, including beef, lamb and wine. This is the first step in which the Torah educates people to open their hearts.

The next step is:

and here our promise is added:

The second step of the tithe we give to others, to those in need. In this way, the Torah builds a society that is not self-centered and where the love for money and property is not a top priority.

Yeshua addresses this idea often, and continues the same line of thought, saying that our heart is where our treasure is. If our treasure is money and possessions, our thoughts, too, will be on financial issues. Yeshua asks us to store up treasures for eternal life, through good deeds, charity, serving and surrendering to God. Then our heart will long for our Heavenly Father and His word:

Yeshua continues and declares that we cannot devote ourselves to two opposing directions at the same time. There will always be a moment where we will prefer one over the other:

Obviously, Yeshua is not against owning property or money. However, He does continue the line of Parashat Ekev, and asks us to open our hearts and to rise above our own egoism.

This can be achieved one step at a time. Firstly, we spend our tithe on our own family, and create a joyful atmosphere and a family feast together. In the third year, we give this tithe to the needy, and from there we continue to the seventh year. In this way, step by step, the Word of God accustoms the hearts of our people. As a result, we have grown accustomed to live out social responsibility.

At a first glance we can only see a narrow opening and narrow boundaries that limit our possessions. Yet, from the moment we begin to walk the narrow way, we discover social responsibility, tranquility, security, a tool to battle our self-centeredness, and then we even notice that this path does not really hurt our income.