“Behold! – “r’eh,” “see, look”
- I set before you today a blessing and a curse…” (Deut.11: 26, emphasis
added). The imperative form of the verb “see, look or behold” is in singular
person, while the “you” in this verse is in plural form. Thus, although
that which is about to follow is a charge to the entire nation, each and every individual
Israelite is to consider what is being said, and is to be personally
responsible to obey YHVH’s Word. Contrary
to the English rendering that, a blessing will result “if you hear the
commandments of YHVH your Elohim which I command you today; and a curse, if you
will not hear the commandments of YHVH your Elohim” (11:27 italics added), in
Hebrew it is simply: “Behold I set before you today a blessing and curse; a
blessing [of] hearing the commandments…” The prepositional “if” is attached
only to the curse. Thus, keeping YHVH’s
Word constitutes a blessing in itself, which is the very reason He gave Yisrael
the Torah in the first place - instructions for life abundant! (cf. John
10:10).
In order to maintain the blessings in the land of
their inheritance, the Israelites are commanded: “You shall utterly destroy
all the places where the nations whom you shall possess serve their
gods… and you shall obliterate their name from that place” (12:2a.3c
italics added). The verb used for “utterly destroy” is the same
as for “obliterate” - “abed” of the root a.b/v.d (alef, bet/vet,
dalet). The first reference is a double rendering,
“a’bed ta’abdoon (destroying you will destroy - singular),” while
the second is “ve’eeba’de’tem (plural).” “Abed” forms a pun with “avod” (ayin,
bet/vet, dalet), which here is “worship and service rendered to idols,”
and may be an intentional device employed in our text. Thus we read above, “The
places where the nations… serve [av’du] their gods,” and in
13:6-8: “If your brother… or your son or daughter, or the wife
you cherish, or your friend… entice you secretly, saying, ‘let us go and
serve [na’avda] other gods…’ you shall not yield to him or listen
to him…” (emphasis and italics added), as serving other gods will indeed bring
about utter destruction and obliteration – avadon - of the above root
a.b/v.d - upon those thus engaged (see also 13:10-17).
But while the command to “obliterate” points to the
places (of the nations’ idol worship), when the text describes idolatry
which originates with one’s relatives and close associates a completely different
course of action is enjoined: "But you shall surely kill him; your hand
shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all
the people. And you shall stone him with
stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the YHVH your
Elohim… (Deut. 13:9-10).
Having been nomads in the wilderness, the
Israelites have not yet experienced the “rest and the inheritance”
promised them by YHVH (12:9). It is
precisely in order to obtain those two promises that they are to “not do
according to all that [you] are doing here today, each doing all that is right
in his own eyes… And you shall cross over the Jordan
Large portions of our Parasha deal with YHVH’s
place of choice of where He is to be worshipped. It is no wonder, therefore,
that just beforehand He commands to cleanse the land of all vestige of
idolatry. As we saw in Parashat Va’ye’tze (Genesis 28: 10 – 32:2, in chapter 28:10ff)
“place” is “makom,” originating from the verb “kum” which means “to rise, stand
up, or go up.” This place is defined as:
“The place which YHVH your Elohim shall choose out of all your tribes; for you
shall seek His dwelling, to put His name there” (12:5). It is there that the Israelites are to “go” --
it is there that they are to “bring” their “offerings, sacrifices, tithes, contributions
and oaths” (12:6, 11). It is also there that they are to “do” all that He
commands them to do (12:14). It is to be
a place for both individual and corporate service to, and worship of YHVH, with
the Pesach sacrifice being offered there (ref. 16:2, 6), and where the “rejoicing” during
the Feast of Shavu’ot (Feast of Weeks) is to take place (ref. 16:11). Finally, “three times in a year shall all your
males appear before YHVH your Elohim in the place which He shall choose”
(16:16
emphasis added). The word here for
“males” is not the usual “z’charim” (singular, “zachar”), but another version
of the same root (z.ch.r. zayin, chaf, resh), “z’churim.” The root
z.ch.r means to “remember,” and thus a “male” is “one who remembers.”
But here the changed form (“z’churim”)
means “those who are remembered.” If the Israelites remember to
obey YHVH’s Word, He will definitely not forget them and will maintain His
faithfulness to them (and to their households).
Whereas the sacrifices and offerings are not to be
offered randomly (“take heed to yourself that you not offer your burnt
offerings in every place that you see,” 12:13), the slaughtering and partaking
of meat, once Yisrael enters the land, may be done at will (v. 15). This will
enable the people to eat the meat of undomesticated animals such as deer and
ram, which although kosher, could not be eaten in the wilderness as they were
not to be used for sacrifices. But in
addition to this changed regulation, another change is now being enacted. Because meat eating in the wilderness always
involved a sacrifice (“peace offering” for the laymen), those partaking of it
had to be “tahor,” that is in a state of ritual cleanliness. However,
with the changed conditions and requirements for and in the Land of Yisrael
The expression “life is in the blood,” of 12:23, is
actually the “blood is [or constitutes] the soul,” as we see also in B’resheet (Genesis)
9:4. Soul - “nefesh” - stems
from the root n.f.sh (noon, pey/fey, shin) meaning, “rest” or “refreshing
oneself.” Shmot (Exodus) 23:12 provides a good example and illustration of the
usage and meaning of this verb: “Six days you are to do your work, but on the
seventh day you shall cease from labor [in order] that your ox and your donkey
may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as your stranger may refresh
themselves” (emphasis added). Thus, embedded in the very word for ‘soul’ is
YHVH’s original intent and design for it, which is “rest, repose and
refreshment.” What's more, in Exodus 313:17 we read the following: "...for in six days YHVH made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed - va'yinafesh".
Chapter 13 begins with a challenge concerning false
prophets or dreamers of dreams, which the Israelites are not to heed if they are
to truly express love for YHVH their Elohim. Accordingly, we read the following in verse 3:
“You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams;
for YHVH your Elohim is testing you to find out if you love YHVH your Elohim
with all your heart and with all your soul.” The Hebrew for “you love…” is “ha’yesh’chem
ohavim…” This is an unusual usage of
“yesh,” which means “there is, substance, or existence” and is generally not
attached to verbs. The particular usage employed
here indicates that the love the Israelites are supposed to have for YHVH is to
be part and parcel of their very being, their make up and fiber.
The rest of chapter 13 and the first part of 14
deal (again) with idolatrous practices, about which it says: “You shall put
away evil from among you” (13: 5c, see also v. 17a)). The verb for “put away” is “(u)ve’arta,”
of the root b.ae.r (bet, ayin, resh) ,
which literally means to “burn.” In
Bamidbar (Numbers) 11:1 we read, “And when the people complained, it
displeased YHVH and YHVH heard it; and his anger was kindled, and the fire of
YHVH burnt among them.” That fire of
YHVH, which burnt among them, was denoted by the same verb. And thus we may infer that Yisrael is not only
to “burn” the “evil,” but that failing to depart from it they will incur YHVH’s
burning (anger). Moreover, there is another
word that is spelt the same and means “brutish or ignorant” and
by inference also “beasts and cattle” (e.g. Gen. 45:17). The fools are addressed in Tehilim (Psalms)
94: 8 – 11 in
this way: “Understand you beastly ones [“bo’arim”] among the people; you fools,
when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed
the eye, shall He not see? He who chastises the nations, shall He not punish,
He who teaches man knowledge? YHVH knows
the thoughts of man, that they are vain.” It appears that b.ae.r (“burning,” but also
“removal” and “brutish”) is applied to the ignorant ones who have incurred
YHVH’s burning anger, or to those who may be in danger of doing so.
The laws of tithing are also repeated in our Parasha: “You
shall surely tithe all the increase of your seed that the field yields year by
year” (14:22). “Aser te’aser,”
you shall surely tithe” (lit. “tithing you shall tithe”) is
emphatic, while the letters ayin, sin and resh which from the word “eser” -
“ten” (the tithe of course being the tenth part of the whole, and called “ma’aser”)
are also the root of ashir - rich (with a slight modification in the
letter “sin,” placing the dot on the upper right hand side, turning it to
“shin”). Are we to surmise from this
that he who pays his tithes is guaranteed riches? The reason given here for the tithes (and for
having to be faithful to eat it in the place chosen by YHVH), is for the
purpose of teaching the “fear [of] YHVH” (14:23). The commentator Alshikh asks, “How can eating,
drinking and abundance of rejoicing teach people to be God fearing? … Perhaps
the Holy One blessed Be He commanded them to take a tithe of all their
possessions to Jerusalem
The principle of the release of debts comes next.
“Every seven years you shall make a release [“sh’mita”] (15:1), of the
verb sh.m.t. (shin, mem, tet), which means to “drop, release,
or let go” (as we saw in Parashat Mishpatim – Ex. 21-24, in 23:11). The lesson learned thereby is not only the
remission of debts, but also the remission of sins, granted us by YHVH who in
forgiveness and grace “lets go” of our transgressions. The theme of generosity
expressed in 15:3-4 is repeated in verses 7-11, where we find the expression, “an open and free hand” (15:8). Such
an attitude, with the resultant deeds, will produce conditions where there will
be, “…no one in need among you, for YHVH will greatly bless you in the land
that YHVH your Elohim is giving you for an inheritance, to possess it” (15:4). But should the poor nevertheless remain in the
land, “sh’mita” will afford an opportunity to “give freely” (ref. vs. 7, 8, 10,
11) and, further, to be blessed in return. Even Yeshua made the comment that “the poor
are always with you” (John 12:8). The
word used in our text for “poor” (15:7, 11) is “ev’yon,” of the root
a.v.h (alef, bet/vet, hey) which is “submit to existing demand” [3], thereby
describing the lot of the less fortunate member of society. In verse 2 we
read: “… every creditor shall release
what he has loaned to his neighbor…” - while “loaned” here is “yasheh”
(root n.sh.h, noon, shin, hey) and means “obligate, give up rights.”
It also forms the root for name Menashe. In verse 6 we read again: “For YHVH
shall bless you as He has promised you, and you will lend to many nations, but
you will not borrow…” “Lend” here is “avot” (a.v.t. ayin, bet/vet,
tet), meaning “obligate, be indebted.” [4] Conditions of full
graciousness and generosity result in full freedom, with none having to “submit
to the demands of others” to whom they are “indebted.” But, as mentioned above,
when that is not the case, YHVH makes provision for those who fall under this
category, thus giving an opportunity to the rest of society to be exercised in
goodness and care for the needy. The centrality of this principle is well
expressed in Proverbs 19:17, which says: “He who has pity on the poor lends to
YHVH, and He will pay back what he has given”.
In the latter part of chapter 15 we encounter
instructions concerning Hebrew slaves, who are to be released on the seventh
year: “And when you send him out free from you, you shall not let him go away
empty. You shall richly bestow on him from your flock, and from your
threshing floor, and from your winepress…” (v. 14, emphasis added). The Hebrew reads: “bestowing you shall bestow,”
while the verb for “bestow” is “ha’anik” (the root is a.n.k,
ayin, noon, kof). According to Daat Mikra commentary [5] the usage of this verb
here is connected to “anak,” a necklace, in order to point out
that rather than ‘hang burdens on the neck’ (as the idiom goes) of the former
slave, the master is to ‘hang on his neck’ gifts of every kind.
Still on the same theme, in 16:11 we read
concerning the Feast of Shavu’ot: “And you shall rejoice before YHVH your Elohim,
you and your son, and your daughter, and your male slave, and your slave-girl,
and the Levite that is inside your gates, and the alien, and the fatherless,
and the widow that are among you…” According to Rashi, the first group of four parallels
the last four. The first lot belongs to man, while the second lot belongs to
YHVH, who says to man: “If you will treat well those who belong to Me, I shall
likewise be kind [literally, ‘cause to rejoice’] to those who belong to you”.
[6]
[1] Dvarim with Daat Mikrah Commentary,
Pub. Mossad Harav Kook, Jm. 2001.
[2] New Studies in Devarim, Nechama Leibowitz,
trans. Aryeh Newman. Eliner
Library,
Department for Torah Education and Culture in the Diaspora. Hemed
Books Inc., Brooklyn ,
N.Y.
[3] Etymological
Dictionary of Biblical Hebew, based on the commentaties of
Samson Raphael Hirsch, Matityahu Clark,
Feldheim Publishers, Jerusalem
[4] Ibid
[5] Dvarim with Daat
Mikrah Commentary, Pub. Mossad Harav Kook, Jm. 2001.
[6]
Ibid
Hebrew Tools for Everyday Use
“R’eh”, the Parasha’s title, is a very common verb
in the modern vernacular. Li’r’ot is “to see”. “Ani ro’eh”, “at ro’ah” mean “I
(masculine) see”, and “I (feminine) see”. In contrast, the verb for “utterly
destroy” – a.v.d (alef, bet/vet, dalet) is not used in that sense at all, but
as “losing” or “lost”. The similar sounding root of a.v.d (but this time ayin,
and not alef, is being used as the first consonant), means something totally
different. In Modern Hebrew it is the verb and noun designated for “to work”
and “work”. “Work” takes us of course to… “rest” – menucha – and to remembering
to do so. “Remembering”, or “to remember” is “liz’kor”. In chapter 13 of the
Parasha we encountered a very unusual verb, “yesh”, which at all other times is
used differently (and commonly). We will therefore end our short Hebrew journey
with “yesh”, which is somewhat equivalent to the English “is” or “have”.
What do you (male, female) see?
Ma ata ro’eh?
Ma at ro’ah?
He lost the book
Hu ee’bed et ha’sefer
She lost the book
He ee’bda et ha’sefer
We remember to rest on Shabbat
Anach’nu zoch’rim (masculine) la’nu’ach be’Shabbat
Anach’nu zoch’rot (feminine) la’nu’ach be’Shabbat
No work on Shabbat
Lo ovdim be’Shabbat
I have a book (lit. is to me a book)
Yesh li sefer
