It is time to wake you.

Take a stretch.  I have some parsha (Torah weekly portion) thoughts to share.  This shabbat we read from the parsha R’ay which is the command form of the verb to see.  It is the first word in our parsha, which begins by saying, “See – I am giving before you today a blessing and a curse.”  The blessing is to listen to all of haShem’s (god’s) mitzvot (commandments/joinings), and the curse is if you don’t listen to the mitzvot and you turn from the path haShem commands and go after other gods/powers that you don’t know.  This is a rather strange thing to say.  Maybe we will come back to it.

The parsha continues with Moshe’s (Moses’s) monologue telling us what to do when haShem brings us into the land.  First, there is a blessing and cursing ritual we need to do.  Then we are to settle into the land, and we are to guard and do all the laws and judgement that we are given.  These laws and judgements are to wipe out the religious objects and the names of the gods, to go to the place haShem chooses to place her name with our offerings and tithes and eat them at that place, and rejoice in all the accomplishments of our hands, with our entire household.  This includes our children, our servants and the Levite who has no portion of inheritance in the land.  haShem will provide rest and security from those around us.

We are then told we are allowed to slaughter and eat meat if our soul desires it, and we are warned not to eat the blood; we are to spill it onto the ground like water.  This we can eat anywhere, however our tithes and the first born of the sheep and cattle, and the offerings must be eaten at the place of haShem’s choosing.  By doing all these things, we are told it will be good for us and our children because we are doing what is good and straight in the eyes of haShem.

We are next warned that after we remove the other nations from the promised land, we are not to run after them wondering about how they worshiped their gods with the intent of following in their ways.  The reason, we are told, is that everything that haShem despises, they did for their gods.

Immediately after this, we are told not to add to or subtract from any of these things.  If a prophet or dreamer of dreams shows up and tells us to worship other gods, we are to understand that this is really a test from haShem and this prophet or dreamer of dreams must die for slandering haShem.  The same fate hold for a family member who tries to get you to worship other gods.  If a whole town starts to follow after other gods, the town and all the people in it shall be destroyed and never rebuilt.

Next we are told that we are a holy nation to haShem, and the most treasured of all the nations on the earth.  This leads us into a list of what animals and birds and fish we are allowed and not allowed to eat.  After these listings, we are told what we can do with the carcass of an animal, and not to cook a kid in its mother’s milk.

The parsha continues by telling us about a second tithe which must be eaten at the place haShem chooses to put his name in order to learn to be in awe of haShem all the time.  If it is too far to bring this tithe, you can change it to money and spend the money on anything your soul desires.

Livestock or intoxicating drinks are the examples the Torah gives before saying it can be on anything you wish.  It just has to be consumed before haShem and that you and your household should rejoice.

Every third year, we are now told, we are to leave this tithe in our gates; it is for the Levite who has no inheritance, and the alien and the orphan and the widow so they can eat and be satisfied.  All this is so haShem can bless you in all the deeds of your hands that you will do.

Next up is what to do every seventh year.  At the end of seven years, all loans to members of the tribes are forgiven; loans to those outside the tribes are still in effect.  We are told that there will be no poor amongst us, and that haShem will bless the land only if we really pay attention to guard and to do all the mitzvot.  After this we are told that if there is a pauper amongst us, we are not to harden our hearts; we are to open our hands and loan the pauper what he needs.

We should be especially careful to not look with an evil eye upon the pauper as we get close to the seventh year, for if he calls out to haShem about us, it will be a sin on us.  We should give because then haShem will bless us concerning all our deeds.

This is followed up with how to send away a slave/indentured servant in the seventh year and what to do if he/she does not want to leave.  Next we are told what to do with the first born of our cattle and sheep.

The parsha goes on to tell us about the holy-days of Pesach (Passover), the Counting of Seven Weeks, the holy-day of Shavuot (Pentecost), and the holy-days of Succot.  The parsha ends with us being told that 3 times a year (the 3 times just mentioned) all the males are to appear before haShem and not to come empty handed.  Every male is to bring a gift of his hand like the blessing that haShem his god/power gave to him.

We covered a lot of ground there.  What can we do with it?

One of the things I noticed is that when we are told to bring our offerings before haShem, we are to be happy:  us, our children, our servants, and the Levi who is within our gates, for he has no portion or inheritance with us.  What a strange thing to say.

I can certainly imagine the Levi and the servants being happy for partaking in OUR offerings.  I can even see our children happy with the adventure of it all.  But how can we be happy?  We are being told to be happy giving away food to the Levi who had no part in helping!

I think the idea here is to help us understand that IT IS NOT OUR OFFERING!

Ok, let me rephrase that.  It is our offering, but the animal is not ours.  The animal came to us from haShem.  If we think it is ours, then we will believe that we have only so much.  If we can trust that it came from haShem and that haShem can give us as much, even more, than we need, then we can happily share it with everybody.  We become like our servants, happy to receive something that is not ours, and hence, happy to share the wealth.

Later on in the parsha, we see an almost repeat.  This time we are talking about a second tithe that we are to bring with us to eat before haShem.  Our parsha tells us that our household should be with us and all of us should rejoice.  It then tells us not to forsake the Levite within our gates who has no inheritance with us.

Here we are being taught to rejoice over the good that god has given each of us.  It is a similar teaching.  We could be unhappy having to give away what we have worked hard for.  But we are told to be happy.

We can’t be happy if we are worried that what we have comes just from our own labors.  We can be happy if we realize that not only has god provided enough for us and our families, but also enough to take to eat before god and also enough to give to the Levi.

The fact is, we have more than enough!  The result of this mitzvah of being happy to come before god and eat and share a second tithe with our families and the Levis is to reinforce our knowledge and understanding that it all comes from god, and not from ourselves.

Now, I want to look at it from another point of view, from the view of the Levi.  Here is someone who has no land of his own, and so has no food of his own.

Now, he could be constantly worried about not having enough and be miserable.  But, the Torah tells him to rejoice with the others who come to eat before haShem.

Understand, this is a person who is forced to rely on others for his next meal.  In order for him to be happy, he has to truly believe that everything comes from haShem and that haShem will provide for him and his family.

This mitzvah, therefore, reinforces this trust and belief that god will provide for him, and that he has enough and will not go without.  Interestingly enough, the Torah actually tells us that if we do all the mitzvot, there will be no paupers and haShem will bless the land (verse 15:4 of D’varim/Deuteronomy).  I wonder if part of what this means is that we will have learned to be happy with what we have, knowing that haShem is taking care of us and giving us what we need.

The parsha begins by talking about a blessing and a curse.  The blessing is following haShem’s ways.  The curse is going against haShem’s ways.

One of haShem’s ways is to be happy HAVING to share what you have.

What this does is open you up to believing that no matter how little you have, it is more than enough.  Is it not a blessing to know you always have enough?

Going against haShem’s ways in regards to being happy to have to share means not being happy to share.  A person is not happy to share if they feel they don’t have enough.  When a person always feels like he doesn’t have enough, he often feels cursed.

Tell me, are you happy with what you have?

If you want to read what I wrote about this parsha last year, click here.

About the Author

Shmuel Shalom Cohen spent 10 years studying Torah in Jerusalem. Six years ago, he started Conscious Torah to help Jews connect to their tradition in ways they didn’t think possible. Shmuel also started, and is the executive directory of Jewish Events Willamette-valley, a non-profit whose mission is to build Jewish community, pride, and learning. In his free time, Shmuel likes walks in nature, playing music, writing poetry, and time with good friends.