This Weeks Torah Portion - R'eih, Deuteronomy, 11:26 - 16:17

In this week's portion R'eih in the Book of Deuteronomy, 11:26 - 16:17 God gives us a clear cut choice-- "See, this day I set before you blessing and curse: blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I enjoin upon you this day;  and curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn away from the path that I enjoin upon you this day and follow other gods, whom you have not experienced. " 

Moses then goes on to reiterate the Laws of Kashrut, rules about sacrifices, laws regarding freeing slaves in the Jubilee year, and all sorts of things that are required to make the choice of a blessing, instead of a curse. Mostly, he admonishes them to not fraternize with the "other." Everything is condensed and urgent as Moses approaches his death.

When we talk about the Chosen People, a chapter like this one reinforces the idea that our fate is in our own hands, and our lives are either blessed or cursed by by our willingness to accept our status as "Chosen".  We must,  therefore, CHOOSE to be chosen. We must accept the yoke of appropriate behavior which God demands of us... for that is the true meaning of being the Chosen People.

Eikev: Deuteronomy 7:12 - 11:25

In this week's Parasha, Eikev, Moses continues with his recap of the events of the last forty years and then makes it extremely clear that God will facilitate the destruction of the people inhabiting the Promised Land not because the Jews are so good, but because the others are so evil!

 A good chunk of time is spent reminding the Israelites that they are "a stiff-necked people."  Moses lists every single time they gave him "push back" and lets them know that God wants them to "cut away" this hardness from their hearts and "be a stiff-necked people no more."  From this comes the oft confusing phrase, to "circumcise your heart" as the translation we usually hear is from the Latin, a literal translation that means "to cut around."

You'll also find  this familiar section of the V'ahavta -

     ¹⁸ Therefore impress these My words upon your very heart: bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a -symbol on your forehead, ¹⁹ and teach them to your children — reciting them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up; ²⁰ and inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates — ²¹ to the end that you and your children may endure, in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to assign to them, as long as there is a heaven over the earth.

Again, we are presented with a "Ripped from Today's Headlines" section about possessing the Land.  If we read it, then perhaps we can begin to understand why in Israel today, the Ultra-Orthodox feel that they contribute to Israel's existence by praying and observing the Mitzvot. 

Finally, we are reminded that Israel as a home for the Jews goes back before 1948.

²² If, then, you faithfully keep all this Instruction that I command you, loving the Lord your God, walking in all His ways, and holding fast to Him, ²³ the Lord will dislodge before you all these nations: you will dispossess nations greater and more numerous than you. ²⁴ Every spot on which your foot treads shall be yours; your territory shall extend from the wilderness to the Lebanon and from the River — the Euphrates — to the Western Sea. ²⁵ No man shall stand up to you: the Lord your God will put the dread and the fear of you over the whole land in which you set foot, as He promised you.

 Let me leave you with some lyrics from the score of the film classic Exodus.  "This land is mine, God gave this land to me, 
This brave and ancient land to me."  

Let these words be a mantra that we repeat over and over again as we read and listen to the news.  Between cease-fires and negotiations let's not forget how long our attachment to this specific piece of real estate has been.  

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Rose

This Week's Torah Portion: Deuteronomy 1:1 - 3:22

This week we begin the fifth and final book of the Torah, D'varim or, in English, Deuteronomy. This week's portion reads like bullet points for the events that we have been reading regarding which specific territory we are to fight for, which ones we are NOT to fight for, who will be permitted to enter the Promised Land and who will not. It is concise, which makes it a narrative easy to memorize and pass on to the next generation.

This portion even discusses GAZA! Our troubles are as recent as today and as distant as thousands of years ago.

The Promised Land was fought hard for... and continues to be.

Shabbat Shalom,  Rabbi Rose