PARSHAS RE’EH | 25 AV 5769 | 15 AUGUST 2009

Parsha Perspectives RABB I LEIB Y BURNH AM

by life” cope with their anger and conflicts

‫בנים אתם לה' אלקיכם לא תתגדדו ולא תשימו קרחה בין‬ of faith. It was based on the experiences
‫עיניכם למת כי עם קדוש אתה לה' אלקיך ובך בחר ה' להיות‬ the author had with his son who died of a
devastating, incurable disease at the age of
‫לו לעם סגלה מכל העמים אשר על פני האדמה‬ fourteen. The author claimed that G-d
“You are children of Hashem, your G-d. You shall neither cut could either be benevolent (all-good) or
omnipotent (all-powerful). He couldn’t
yourselves nor make any baldness between your eyes for the imagine that G-d could possibly be both,
because he couldn’t reconcile how could
dead. For you are a holy people to the Lord, your God, and the there be so much pain and suffering in the
world as part of a Divine Plan.
Lord has chosen you to be a treasured people for Him, out of all
His resolution was that G-d is good, and
the nations that are upon the earth.” (Deuteronomy 14:1-2) therefore, not omnipotent. He suggested

I
that death and other painful experiences
n ancient times, when a loved one died, friends and relatives would cut are the result of “fate,” i.e. outside of G-d’s
themselves and shave portions of their head to express their anguish. control, but that G-d mourns alongside us.
While the book generated significant
Here, G-d commands us not to follow those practices. What seems attention for its unconvential approach to
strange is the juxtaposition of this mitzvah to the verses that precede and suffering, its thesis is inconsistent with
virtually every source in Jewish tradition.
follow it. Why specifically does G-d remind us here that we are His children? Rather than offering solace, the author’s
Why, at this particular point, does He tell us that we are a treasured people? diminution of G-d is a recipe for added
frustration and confusion. Judaism rejects
Death and dying are very weighty issues, can end up expressing itself in self- this philosophy and affirms that despite
and often misunderstood. The question of destructive behaviors such as self- our inability to understand the reasons
theodicy, or “why bad things happen to mutilation. behind painful experiences, we are
good people,” is one of the most confident that they are part of G-d’s plan
philosophically challenging questions in The Torah forbids such behavior. It for us His children, and that they are
existence. Yet, as part of our faith, we highlights the fact we are the children of ultimately for our good.
believe that no matter how difficult, G-d, Who is intensely involved in our lives.
Everything that happens to us is for the Knowing that everything that happens to
challenging or sad something is, it is
best, even when we can’t see it that way. us is from our Loving Father in heaven and
actually part of G-d’s beneficence.
When faced with a painful experience, we part of a Master Plan is comforting in its
People who believe that death is the must focus on how to grow from it. We own right. There is therefore no need to
ultimate end of the deceased, feel an must recognize that it is part of a plan of resort to self-mutilation. Instead of
indescribable sense of anguish that is our beneficent Father Who treasures every destroying ourselves, the Torah teaches us
indescribable. It is almost impossible to one of us. to better ourselves through the painful
console someone who sees the death of a experiences we inevitably face.
loved one as final and believes that the In the early 1980’s, a book entitled “When
deceased was just another statistic, a Bad Things Happen to Good People” was Rabbi Burnham can be reached at:
victim of happenstance. This intense pain published to help people who were “hurt rabbiburnham@partnersintorah.org

Dedicated to the memory of Sadie Shigon ‫ ע''ה‬from the Felson and Diamond families.
Talking Points
1. ESTABLISHING GOOD CREDIT
“Only in the place that Hashem chooses
within one of your tribes, there you are to
offer up your burnt-offerings, and there
you are to do everything that I am
commanding you.” 12:14
Within one of your tribes – The reason the
Torah specified that the Sanctuary was
within one of the tribes was to counter the
argument that it’s unfair for the Sanctuary to
be found only within one tribe and not the
others. It must be here, and only here, by this
tribe, says the Torah, and no other Sanctuary
may be established in any other tribal
territory. – Ohr HaChaim
Within one of your tribes – This refers to
the tribal portion of Benjamin. However, this
is difficult to understand, because earlier
[verse 5] it is said, ‘of all your tribes.’ How
can this be? When King David purchased the
threshing site from Aravna the Jebusite, he
gathered the gold to pay for it from all the
tribes. This is why they are credited with
owning the site. Nevertheless, the actual site
was in Benjamin’s tribal territory. - Rashi
In P’ninei Daas, Rabbi Elya Meir Bloch zt”l
added to Rashi’s point that from here we see
that anyone who contributes toward the
purchase of a place of worship not only
receives merit for his contribution, but also
earns the right to have the place called on his
name to some degree. The fact that all the
Tribes contributed to its purchase earned them
the right to have the Torah refer to the place as
belonging to “of all your tribes,” although in
actuality it was in the tribal portion of
Benjamin.
2. GOATS, NOT KIDS
“When Hashem, your G-d, will have
purged the nations whom you are coming
there to inherit, from before you; and you
inherit them and dwell in their land; Take
heed, lest you are torn apart along with
them, after they have been annihilated
before you, and lest you inquire about their
gods, saying, ‘How did these nations
RE’EH
worship their gods, let me do so, too.’ Do
not do so to Hashem, your G-d, for all that
is abominated by G-d and that He hates,
they have done or their gods; even their
sons and their daughters do they burn in
fire to their gods.” 12:29-30
Annihilated before you – When you see
that I have annihilated them before you,
think about why I annihilated them. It was
because of their decadent behavior.
Therefore, you must refrain from emulating
them so that no one comes to annihilate you
– Rashi
Let me do so too – You may see their forms
of worship to their idols and think that
perhaps, I desire that too. That’s a mistake,
for I detest their forms of worship and drove
them out of Canaan because of it. – Sforno
Even their sons and their daughters – The
word “even” is extra and is inserted to inform
us that not only did the parents sacrifice their
children, the children did likewise to their
parents. – Rashi
Rabbi Yaakov Kamenecki zt”l, in his
commentary, Emes L’Yaakov, explains that
Moses was not only warning them not to
slaughter their children to G-d. Rather, his point
was that there are elements of idol worship
that could very well have appeared to be rather
appealing and beautiful, and the Jews may
have been tempted to incorporate them into
their own worship of G-d. Therefore, Moses
provided them with a vivid example of how
debauched and ill-suited their worship was for
adaptation. An idol worship that contains
elements of child-slaughter is not worth
emulating in any form, even its more benign
aspects.
3. GRACE MANSION
“At the end of three years, separate all the
tithes of your produce of that year and set
them aside in your city. The Levite shall
come, for he has no portion [in the Land] or
inheritance with you, and the proselyte and
the orphan and the widow who are in your
city, let them eat until satiety; so that
RABB I ELAZAR MEISELS
Hashem, your G-d, will bless you in all the
endeavors that you undertake.” 14:28, 29
Give, you shall give him – This comes to
teach that if one withheld his tithes during
the first and second years of the Shmittah
cycle, he must divest his home of them
during the third year. – Rashi
Let them eat until satiety – When the
needy person eats until satiety, he is sure to
bless you wholeheartedly and that blessing
is even more effective than the one gained
by the very act of tithing. – HeEmek Davar
Netziv (Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin) adds
that in order to be Scripturally obligated to
recite Birchat HaMazon [Grace after Meals],
one must have eaten to satiety. By allowing
them to eat until satiety, they will now recite
Birchat HaMazon, whose recital showers a
household with inordinate blessing. This is why
the verse continues with a promise, “that
Hashem, your G-d, will bless you in all your
endeavors,” for the blessing will manifest itself
in an untold number of ways.
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BREAD AND BLESSINGS
Dear Rabbi,
Reading through the text of the Grace after Meals, I was surprised to find (if
I read right) only two references to bread, and many references to things I
would never have associated with a meal, such as the Land of Israel, the
Holy Temple, and Jerusalem. I realize that these things are important, but
what relevance do they have to someone who just ate bread?
Thanks for your help.
Nancy B.
Dear Nancy,
I appreciate your insightful comment. Many
people unfortunately don’t give much
thought about the actual text of the Grace
after Meals, but it is certainly important to
plummet.
The Talmud tells us that the mitzvah to say
the first three blessings of the Grace after
Meals is a Torah requirement; the fourth is a
Rabbinical requirement. However, the text
itself was added to over time. While the Jews
were in the wilderness for 40 years,
physically sustained by the Manna which fell
from heaven, Moses formulated the first
blessing, which concludes, “Hazan es hakol”
- Who provides nourishment to all. When the
Jews entered the Land of Israel during the
times of Joshua, Joshua added the blessing,
“Al ha’aretz v’al hamazon,” For the Land and
for food. After King David established the
foundations of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem,
he added the third blessing, “U’v’nei
Yerushalayim,” O, build Jerusalem. Finally,
after the destruction of the Second Temple,
the city of Beitar did not capitulate to their
Roman enemies and were mercilessly
slaughtered. Their bodies were left in the hot
sun, since the Romans forbade Jewish burial.
Nevertheless, many months later when the
Jews finally were able to bury their comrades,
they were witness to a miracle - the bodies
of the slain did not decompose. The Rabbis
of that generation added the fourth blessing
to the Grace after Meals, “Birkas hatov
v’ha’meitiv,” the blessing of the One Who
performs good.
I mention this history only to increase the
intensity of your question. How do these
historical events find their way into the text of
one who wants to thank G-d for the bread he
has just eaten? To develop an explanation,
we need to recall that one of the areas
where G-d’s control of the world is more
open and apparent is in matters regarding a
person’s livelihood. As the verse in Psalms
says, “He opens up His Hand and causes
satisfaction to all life.” This open Hand
symbolizes G-d’s special control, which is
known as Hashgacha Pratis - His control over
all things, including minor details. When a
person is hungry and needs to eat, it is
natural to feel the appreciation for food and
make a blessing with proper intention. After
becoming satiated, however, it is more
difficult to feel appreciation, for our nature is
that the acuteness of our appreciation
declines with the relief from hunger pangs.
Therefore, our recitation of these after-
blessings needs added effort in order to
achieve the proper level of intention.
The text of the Grace after Meals is a review
of G-d’s intervention in our history and His
Divine Hand which directed us in our mission
as Jews. In the wilderness, each individual
received his portion of Manna to sustain him,
and it fell at a distance from his door,
depending on his particular spiritual
accomplishments the prior day - a clear
indication of Divine guidance. The Jews
conquered the indigenous nations in the
RABB I REUVEN DRUCKER
Land of Israel during the times of Joshua in
an extraordinary manner, including Joshua’s
effort to halt the movement of the sun! King
David defeated the Jesubites in Jerusalem
and his son King Solomon erected the Holy
Temple, which served as the pinnacle of the
Jews service to G-d and a fulfillment of their
mission. But even after the Jews sinned and
the Temple was destroyed, G-d remained
with them and preserved the bodies of the
slain in Beitar to demonstrate that His
miraculous intervention in our lives is not
dependent on our performance. He will
never abandon us, even during our long
exile.
We need to remind ourselves of G-d’s
intervention in our livelihood, which is
symbolized by bread, at the time we are
most apt to forget it. It is only as a result of
His intervention that we were able to eat our
last meal. The recitation of the Grace after
Meals is not a mere “Thank You.” Without His
special guidance, we would have starved to
death. One can derive inspiration about
Hashgacha pratis (Divine intervention) by
recounting the extraordinary interventions in
the life of the Jewish people as a whole, and
so the text was formulated to aid us in
accomplishing the proper intentions.
All the best to you, Nancy.
RD
Rabbi Drucker can be reached at
rabbidrucker@partnersintorah.org
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TABLE TALK
FOR DISCUSSION AROUND THE SHABBAT TABLE
RABBI LABEL LAM
The first word and the title of the parsha this week is
“Re’eh” – see: “See I place before you today blessing and
curse; The blessing if you listen to the commandments of
Hashem your G-d that I command you today, and the
curse if you do not listen to the commandments of
Hashem your G-d and you turn from the path that I am
commanding you today to go after gods that you do not
know.” (Devarim 11:26-28) The Torah continues with a
dramatic demonstration for the entire Jewish Nation.
Corresponding to the blessing and curse mentioned
earlier, there were two mountains, each with a distinct
appearance. One mountain, Mt. Grizim, was
flowering, and fruitful, while the other, Mt. Aivil, was rocky,
arid, and barren in appearance. When the blessings were
enunciated, the attention of the people turned to Mt.
Grizim, and while the curses were delivered, Mt. Aivil
became the focal point.
‫)א‬
The Torah, in various places, including this week’s
parsha, places an emphasis on hearing the words
of the Torah [ex. “Hear O Israel” (Devarim 6:4), “If
you listen to the commandments” (Devarim 11:27)]. What
additional message is conveyed through the use of the
word ‘Re’eh’ – ‘see’?
‫)ב‬
Why would seeing be a more fitting directive in
introducing the blessings and curses?
‫)ג‬
The first two verses use the word ‘today’ (“See I
place before you today”; “that I command you
today”). As the Torah couldn’t possibly expect us
today to ‘see’ the encounter on Mt. Grizim and Mt. Aivil,
what message is expressed through the addition of the
word ‘today’?
Rabbi Lam can be reached at:
parsha@partnersintorah.org
Soul Talk
We all know of the obligation to care for our
fellow Jews. Rabbi Yehudah HaChassid (in
Sefer Chassidim 553) explains that being
uncaring has consequences of which we might
not be aware. When we see that one person’s
prayers are accepted and another’s are not, the
difference between them may be the degree to
which they feel for their friends and neighbors:
‘‘The reason why one’s prayers are not
answered might be that he does not keep in
mind the pain and shame of his fellow Jews. He
should think, ‘Were I in the same painful
situation as my neighbor, I would certainly pray
to G-d to be saved.’ By not feeling his friend’s
pain, and thus not praying that his friend’s
lush,
difficulties disappear, he disregards the
command (Vayikra 19:18), ָ ‫ֲך‬
‫ֵע‬‫ְר‬
‫ָ ל‬‫ְתּ‬‫ַב‬
‫ְאָה‬ ‫ו‬
‫ָמוֹך‬
ָ ‫כּ‬, you shall love your fellow as yourself.’’
Rabbi Moshe Cordevero’s book titled Tomer
Devorah (1:4) explains that the obligation
placed upon us by the verse ָ ‫ֲך‬
‫רע‬ְֵ
‫ָ ל‬‫בתּ‬
ְַ‫ְאָה‬‫ו‬
‫ָמוֹך‬
ָ ‫ כּ‬is a consequence of the deep spiritual
connection all Jews share with one another. In
fact, Tomer Devorah makes the point that one
must not only feel his friend’s pain, but also
delight in his joy: ‘‘It is therefore proper that a
person should wish for his friend’s good and be
pleased at his friend’s success. His friend’s
honor should be as important to him as his
own, because they are as one! He should want
his friend’s conduct to be proper and should
not talk negatively about him, nor should he be
pleased by such negative talk. Just as G-d,
because of His closeness to us, does not wish
us any degradation or misery, so should a
person not desire his friend’s shame or distress.
Such events should be as painful to him as if he
himself were suffering from that trouble — or,
conversely, he should be as pleased with his
friend’s success as if he himself received that
very benefit.”
Sefer Chassidim continues to allude to the
connection between one’s concern for one’s
friend and his prayers being answered. In fact,
the Talmud (Shabbos 151b) spells out the
same lesson at greater length: “ָ ‫ְך‬
‫ַן־ל‬‫ָת‬
‫ְנ‬‫ו‬
‫ְך‬
ָ ‫ַמ‬
‫ִח‬‫ְר‬
‫ִים ו‬ ‫ֲמ‬
‫ַח‬‫ר‬, and He will give you mercy
and be merciful to you — Heaven will have
mercy on one who is merciful to others, but
one who is not merciful will not receive
Heavenly mercy.’’ Maharsha (Rabbi Shmuel
Eliezer Edeles) explains that the Talmud reads
the verse as consisting of two parts: And He will
give you mercy — so that you should be
merciful to others, and because of that [He will]
be merciful to you — G-d will be merciful to
you, taking care of your needs.
This quality of being concerned for others is of
great importance. For without it, concludes Sefer
Chassidim, what separates man from animals,
who are not concerned with their fellow
animal’s pain? Indeed, a person who is
insensitive to other’s problems has lost his
humanity, and is the subject of the verse
(Ecclesiastes 3:19): ‫ָה‬‫ֵמ‬
‫ְה‬‫ַבּ‬
‫ִן־ה‬ ‫ָם מ‬ ‫ָאָד‬‫ַר ה‬
‫וּמוֹת‬
‫ִן‬
‫אָי‬, Man has no superiority over beast.
Besides the general lesson that Sefer Chassidim
teaches, that one must care for his fellow Jew,
we see something else, no less important: Even
when one cannot directly help a person afflicted
with troubles, one can express his concern by
praying for him. And in that merit, one’s own
prayers will be answered.
With permission from Artscroll’s Daily Dose