Re'ei - 1st Portion

Join me as we learn Chumash for Sunday Parshas Re'eh, the first Torah reading in chapter 11 verse 26. Last week's Torah reading we concluded as Moshe tells the Jewish people about their uniqueness and about their relationship that they have with God and because of that and no enemy will be able to stand in their way and and they'll be able to take possession of the land of Israel without any issues. Now the Torah tells us about Moshe reminding the Jewish people about when they will come to the land of Israel. At that point they will be staged on two different mountains given the choice of blessings and the opposite of blessings. Verse 26. See I set before you today the formula of blessings and the and the curse as they will be pronounced. As Rashi explains, "Brachah u'klalah, what is this referring to?" These are the blessings that will be later on as we're going to be mentioning in the Torah reading of Ki Savo that will be given to the Jewish people on Mount Gerizim and on Mount Ebal. Verse 27. The blessings will be indeed to motivate and that we should heed the commandments of God, your God, that I'm commanding you today. Rashi Es ha'brachah. "What? You're getting these blessings that in order that you should be able to intend to get you to follow what Hashem tells you to do." Verse 28. V'ha'klalah. And the curse is similarly Im lo sishma mitzvos Hashem Elokeichem, "If you're not going to listen to the commandments of God, your God, v'sartem min ha'derech asham, you will go off the path asher anochi mitzaveh eschem hayom, that I command you here today laleches acharei elohim acherim, and that you will then follow other deities, other gods, that you do not know of. Rashi, What do we have from here? Should call it the way that we do not want to serve idolatry. How do you serve the direction of the soul? Even though you may seem it's only idolatry, but it's as if he's went off the path of everything that a Jew is meant to be doing. We can number from here the sages of learned call on my David is a keeper call out one who acknowledges and believes in idolatry is as is if he denies in the entire Torah. Verse 29. When God will bring you to the land I should have to wash them that you will come there to take possession of it and he will position >> [clears throat] >> the blessings that you those receiving the blood those that are receiving the blessings will be on Mount Gerizim as I call on those that are receiving the curse will be on Mount Ebal. Rashi, Those that are getting the blessings will be on Mount Gerizim will be on Mount Gerizim. Meaning that not those those that are blessing will be standing [snorts] on on Mount Gerizim, but actually those that are receiving it because the Levites are the ones that are giving the blessing and during the blessing they'll be pointing for towards the Mount Gerizim and then say the blessings. And saying blessed is the person who hasn't made any idolatries call out and so 20 we talk about the curses even those they said first the terminology of blessing that means first they turned turned Mount Gerizim and they said those that are to be able to get the blessings and then they continued and turned towards Mount Ebal and said curses. Verse 30. Aren't these mountains on the other side of the Jordan? On the other side of the Jordan further on from the river in the direction of the sunset. The area of the Canaanites in the land of the Canaanites. Who dwell in the plain. Beyond the Gilgal. Next to the plains of Moreh. Rashi Hallelu Yah. He tells the Jewish people that when you'll go into the land of Israel, how you going to know where these mountains are? So therefore he says you'll notice when you come into the land of Israel where they going to be. After you pass the Jordan for a while. Behold the middle of keep on going further. That's what he says. After meaning a while past it. Anytime it says the word after means a while later. The either while later or while in space, the word after means in a separation of space. What does it mean the way of the sunset? In the direction of the sunset. Meaning the hollow in the yard and the side might have going from the Jordan westward. We see this in the actual verse in the in the cantillation that's put there. The word after and Derek are two separate words and two different cantillations. They have they're given they're they're vowel with two different types of cantillations. For example, after has The word after has a pashta. And the word Derek has a yasev. And it has also a it has like a dot in the dalet. Telling you that it is even though it's next to the word after it but it still has in the definition for itself. If you if it would be the one night into one word how you knock at then it would have been like a hyphenated word. The shape of Like what had him up and rough and dollar would have been without a dot. The very fact because there are certain cantillations that show that the word connects with one another for example cut there's different cantillations that would show you the understanding and so to speak gives you the punctuation of the sentence. Over here that each one has a separate cantillation tells you that these words are separate as well the very fact that there's a dot and the dollar tells you that the direct the word direct is giving you its own interpretation. Mula Gilgal rocky when I Gilgal this different far from beyond the Gilgal. A leaning mirror what is a leaning mirror who's come that is actually the city of Sham Sham as we find in the book of Genesis it says I can come Sham into the place of Sham which is a line mirror. Because you are crossing over the Jordan love you love to go there and to possess the land I shall I shall God is giving to you you're going to possess it you're going to take possession of it. You're going to settle in it. You're going to you're going to go through the Jordan and as you go through you're going to have many miracles are going to happen to you and with those miracles those are going to be a sign that you'll be able to overcome and take possession of the land. 32 You should make sure to safeguard and to fulfill all the rules and ordinances that I'm setting before you today. Chapter 12 verse 1 these are the laws and the ordinances that you must safeguard. I shall not God God of your fathers has given to you to take possession of the land for all the all the days that you live on the earth. Number one, which is verse two. You must utterly eradicate all the places that the nations of the world serve there. that you are taking possession you're taking over their land. their gods on the tall mountains on the lofty mountains for and on the hills the under every lush tree. Rashi I be the abdomen a bait You have to eradicate you have to greatly destroy but he uses a double terminology a bait you have to destroy it and then destroy it again meaning because from here we learn should that it's not enough to just remove it you have to actually uproot it completely. What does it mean all those things if you already said all the places that they serve there? What is he talking about? What how do you eradicate it? All the all those gods that they have on their idols that they have on their mountains on their hills wherever they may be. Verse three touch them abolish their altars for she bought them to save them break their monuments and their trees that they serve to be burned in fire and their idols that they make to garden should be chopped down and you should eradicate their name from that place. Rashi says It's a compilation of a bunch of stones one on top of the other. One stone is a monument this is the word talks about Shakhat which is taken out, which was carved out from the mountain which was made as a monument, a place where a place where they would keep their idolatry and they would put it on top of it. Ashera, ashera is a tree that was served. How do you get rid of the name to something disgusting. And that's why if it was called for example base galia place of name of respect meaning oh a whole mountain, a great mountain. You call it it now a place of a hill of a ditch. A place that everybody would look at it. You change the name in a place where people get disgusted by it. You would change the name to something which is derogatory getting rid of the great name that they gave it to. You must not do so to God your God. You must not do so he says. To be able to bring sacrifices in any place. Only bring it in places where God designates which is going to be in Jerusalem and in the holy temple. Another explanation that you should eradicate and destroy their altars and eradicate their name and but you should not do so to God. This is a warning. This is a warning. This is a commandment about one should be careful not to erase God's name or not to or not to remove a stone from the altar or from the temple from the holy temple. He said do you think a Jew would ever think of destroying a holy altar? Do you think a Jew would ever think of destroying a holy altar? He explains that what this means is that though you will never think of directly getting rid of or destroying an altar of God, but when you follow what they do, that will cause that the holy temple should be destroyed and that the altar should then be destroyed. Verse five. Over here the Torah tells us about making one place where the Jewish people would go and bring their altars bring their make their altars and bring their sacrifices. You know what I'm going to share with them. Rather you must bring you must go on place with a place where God will choose because you stay home from all your tribes lost in the mission to place is named there. To there you must seek his presence versus Shimon you will come there to be able to bring the sacrifices. Rashi. This refers to that there's also going to be a place which is not only in the Holy Temple but before that that the Tabernacle would be in a place for a very long time which is the Tabernacle of Shiloh which that was also a built structure to a certain extent. Verse six. They some Shimon say come with him and you must bring there your sent offerings your meal offerings as my three say come and your tithe that's to must yet come and the donations from your hand and the and your promising and those that you took an oath the vows and it will say come your donation to be come and the first born of your cattle with saying come and of your flock. Rashi. A peace offering which you're obligatory to bring for example those of the holidays. Master say come which is the master be him at the time of the animal master Shimon the tithe yet to eat in Jerusalem which you're obligated to eat in the inside of the wall of Jerusalem. To must yet come donation of your hands a little bit good and this is the first fruit Shimon as it says that the coin take the basket from your hand referring to your fruit the first born of your animals will see them look at him to give it to the coin for your claim of Shimon that the coin can bring it as a sacrifice there on the altar. Verse six verse seven sorry. And then you must eat it there before God. Yet come and you will rejoice in all your endeavors. You and your family and your families that God has blessed you to have. According to the blessing that God blesses you, that's what you're going to contribute and bring to the holy temple. Verse eight. Do not do. You must not act in the same way that we are doing it all here today, which is each color that every person deems as appropriate for himself to do. This is going back to before what he said. When you're going to cross the Jordan, because he's explaining and contrasting the difference the way the Jewish people observed in the time of the desert and when they're going to enter into the holy land of Israel. Because when you're going to cross the Jordan, you'll still be able to bring sacrifices on your private altar. Only all the 14 years that while you're dividing and conquering the land. However, the day allowed you to bring the private altar that you're still allowed to bring the sacrifices. Call However, not every sacrifice can be brought in a private altar. That means not everything that you're bringing today in the tabernacle can you bring on your private altar. So who you mark them because the tabernacle that went with you the name Shakira was anointed. So who can I give to Shimon is that you're allowed to bring sin offerings and guilt offerings vows and donations. However, the however, but on the private altar the only thing you're allowed to bring it is a personal vow and a personal donation. However, sin offerings and guilt offerings have to be brought in the tabernacle. And that's why the verse explains each color each person does as he wishes. Meaning the those vows and donations that you decide and you wish to bring, then because you decide to do it, if it's not something which you are obligatory to bring. However, those that are obligatory and allowed to bring on your private altar, or you some those that you wish to bring, those that you decide on your own that you feel is appropriate to bring, you can bring on your personal altar. That's only for the first 14 years. After that, all sacrifices have to be brought in the appropriate places, whether the tabernacle in Shiloh, or eventually in the holy temple in Jerusalem. Verse nine. Because you will not yet have come to the resting place, which is to the resting place and to the inheritance God is going to give you. God is giving you. Rashi, those those 14 years, at at still in that situation when you haven't yet come to the place. And what's ultimately the inheritance, Jerusalem, this is the land of Jerusalem. That you will ultimately come there and bring the sacrifices there. Verse 10, and you'll cross over the Jordan. And then you'll settle in the land that God is giving to us as inheritance, and he will grant you respite from all your enemies around you. When you're surrounded you, but that and you'll be able to dwell in the land securely. Rashi explains, once you split it up, and every tribe will know what his place is and where his land is to be possessed. After you conquer and separate the land, then you will have you'll have rest from those left over nations that are there that God allowed them to test the Jewish people, you'll rest securely. If Aims Ice, that will only happen Ella may David, in the time of David. Oz, only then began the obligation of the building of the Holy Temple, because at that time is when the enemies of the Jews stood apart and they with the Jews were able to rest securely in the land of Israel. This concludes the first Torah reading of Parshas Re'eh.