The parsha (weekly Torah portion) we we are reading this week is called R’ay, which is the command form of the verb to see.  The parsha begins with Moshe (Moses) commanding the people to see that he is putting before them a blessing and a curse, depending on if they follow in haShem’s (god) way or not.  We then read where they are supposed to do this ritual of blessing and curse, and of another warning to follow the laws, which includes removal of any sign of the deities of the previous inhabitants.

We then read that we will have only one place to perform sacrifices and offerings:  the place that haShem chooses to place his name, and that this is a place to rejoice in what we have accomplished based on what haShem has blessed us with.

Next, we read that if our soul’s desire, we may slaughter and eat meat in accordance with the blessings god has given, but make sure not to eat the blood, and that tithes can only be eaten at the place haShem chooses (which, by the way, is Jerusalem).  Again, we read about eating meat, but not the blood, for the blood is the soul and you may not eat the soul with the meat.  And again the parsha tells us to bring sacrifices to god’s chosen place and if we do this, it will be good for us and our children because we do what is good and upright in the eyes of haShem.

Next we get a warning not to worship as the nations that are about to be kicked out worshiped, and not to listen to anyone who tries to tell us to follow after other deities; rather, you should kill that person.  And we read what we should do to a town that follows after foreign deities.

After this we are told we are the children of haShem, and not to cut ourselves, or make ourselves bald when somebody dies, all because we are a holy nation.  Then comes a list of the animals we can and cannot eat.  We are told of the tithe to take that must be eaten in the place of god’s choosing, and that we should rejoice there, along with our household, and not to forget the Levi because he has no inheritance with us.  Every three years, this tithe is instead given to the Levi, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, so they can eat and be satisfied, and god can bless all that we will do.

Next comes the shmita year that happens every seven years.  Shmita means to give up on something, and the rules include that all debts are forgiven.  We are then warned not to be stingy with loans as the seventh year approaches, for that is a sin.  And if we give the loans, god will bless all we do.  We then read that the shmita year is also a time to let slaves go free, and that they don’t go away empty handed, and what to do if they don’t want to leave.  After this we read what we do with the first born of our cattle and the sheep.

As the parsha winds down, we read about how to observe Pesach (Passover), and Shavuot and Succot.

There is a lot I can say about this parsha.  So much so, that I am not sure where to begin.

There were two things that really struck me about this parsha.  The first has to do with eating meat.  We are allowed to eat meat when our soul desires.  What does that mean?

I ask this question with an eye to an earlier parsha.  Remember when the tribes were wandering in the wilderness and wanted meat and god became angry with them and gave them so much meat that they died eating it?  Why did that happen?  It happened because the craving for meat did not come from their soul; it came from another place.

This place, our tradition calls the Yetzer harah or the evil inclination.  It is the part of you that persuades you to do things that are not good for you, or not do things that are good for you.  It comes from a place of disconnect from our source, from haShem.

Our soul, on the other hand, is what connects us to haShem.  So, when we demanded meat in the wilderness, that demand did not come from our higher selves.  It came from the part of us that says, “I don’t need haShem.  I will rebel and cut my connection with my creator.”  It tricks us by telling us how much better we had it as slaves.  When we follow that part of ourselves, we find ourselves at odds with life and the universe, and everything.  When we did this in the wilderness, many of us died.

Now, god is telling us what really happened.  She is saying that we didn’t listen to what our soul wanted back then, and that it is ok to eat meat, BUT ONLY WHEN YOUR SOUL DESIRES IT.

HaShem is telling us the problem wasn’t in eating the meat, it was in what prompted our desire.  We need to pay attention and know when it is coming from our higher self, or our lower self, from our soul, our connection to the divine, or our Yetzer harah, the disconnector from the divine.  And we are being told this now, because it is very important to follow the desires of the soul if we want to stay on the land and prosper.  This, I think, is one of the fundamental teachings of what the world calls Judaism:  to learn how to distinguish between the soul and the Yetzer harah.

This leads me into the second thing I noticed in the parsha:  the idea of shmita.  As I said before this word means, “To forgive,” as in forgiving a debt.

Why is this mixed into a parsha about listening to your soul?  To answer this we need to look a little bit at the rules of shmita.  Every seven years, we are to forgive all debts and let our slaves go free.  Not only do our slaves go free, but they don’t leave empty handed; we give them livestock and grains and wine and whatever else we have produced.  Further, god tells us not to be stingy with loans as we approach the seventh year.  If we are stingy, we will have sinned, and if not, we will be blessed.

Kind of harkens back to the opening of our parsha don’t you think?  Well, to give a loan so close to the shmita year really takes faith and trust… unless one can tap into that connection to god, can really connect to their soul.

This, I think, is one of the purposes for the whole setup of shmita.  It really forces us to trust or connect to haShem.  It is real easy to listen to the Yetzer harah saying, “Don’t be a fool.  there is no way you will recoup your loan.”  The Yetzer harah is trying to get you to focus on the short term and be near-sighted, so you miss the forest from the trees.

God says in the parsha that there really are no poor people on the land, and to help the poor.  This seeming contradiction is all a matter of perspective.  There is enough wealth to go around, so they are not really poor if you give them a loan.

And by giving them a loan, you really are helping yourself, because god promises that all you will do in the future will be blessed because of this loan.  This is so very deep, but this missive is getting long, so I will leave it to you to contemplate the ramifications of what I have just said.  Suffice it to remember that one of the roots of the word mitzvah is, “To join,” as in creating a connection between yourself and haShem (ie strengthening your soul).

Besides, I haven’t talked about the slaves.  Why do we give them anything when they go?

There are several reasons.  The first is that they need something to give them a start as a free people.  A second is that they had a big part in producing what we have.  Another reason is to remember that we were slaves once upon a time, and how nice it was to have something when we left Egypt.

This next reason is a key one:  because a slave is worth double that of a hired worker.  In other words, though we don’t realize it when they leave, they have provided twice the work and at no cost.  So, they really should be given some compensation.

However, it is so easy not to see this.  It is so easy to think that we did it ourselves, without any help.  This is to help us remember, we had help.  First we remember we had help from the slave, and then we remember, because haShem told us to do what we would not normally think to do, we remember that it isn’t just us and the slave, it is also haShem who provided all we have.  This reminder helps us form and strengthen our connection to god.

I could go on talking about the constant repetition not to leave out the Levi, who has no land, when you bring food to Jerusalem to celebrate before god all that you have accomplished.  However, I feel that we have run out of time.  The message from the parsha (one of many) has been shared, and now is the time to start applying it, with an eye towards how we can really have a closer connection the divine, the creator of all.

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.