This Shabbos we discussed parsha Re’eh. David Schlesinger led discussion. In the parsha Moshe tells the people that they can be either blessed or cursed depending on their choices and actions. Yaki commented that consequences are not necessarily punishments or blessings. Yaki mentioned as an example, running out in the street without looking and getting hit by a car. It is not necessarily a punishment for running out in the street, but simply what happens.
David commented that the rewards for doing mitzvahs may be internal as well as external. We discussed the differences between these types of rewards, and that the connection between our actions and our blessings may not be immediately apparent. External rewards include money and favors people may give to us in return for our service. Internal rewards include feeling good about doing mitzvah, and spiritual growth that we may receive. We discussed that communities and nations can also receive rewards and blessings collectively.
We discussed how during our life it is our purpose to grow spiritually, in order to get ready for the world to come. David talked about how our religion places a very large value on life, not because life is necessarily better than the world to come, but because life helps us get ready for the world to come. We discussed how it is said that one minute in the next world is better than an hour in this world. But it is also said that one minute of Torah study, is better than an hour in the next world. We say the later, because Torah study is how we prepare for the next world, when we will receive our Torah study directly from Hashem.
David commented how his father would make an analogy between getting ready for an opera, and the world to come. We all will get to go to the opera, but those who are ready for it are going to enjoy and get a lot more out of it. Unlike the philosophy of other religions, in our religion we should spend as much time as possible getting ready for “the opera” and not be in a hurry to go.
We discussed how in this section of the Torah, there is a transition from a repetition of our history over to a reminder of what are our most important mitzvahs. Dave W commented that there is a lot of repetition in these parshas. We had a discussion of the different types of mitzvahs that we do. There are mitzvahs that we do individually, mitzvahs we do as a community, and mitzvahs that we do as a nation. As a nation, we have a mitzvah to settle and defend the land of Israel. As a community, we have mitzvahs to do such things as build schools and synagogues. And as an individual we have mitzvahs to do such as study Torah, and follow commandments to keep Kosher.
In this week’s parsha, there is a section about being the children of Hashem and not making marks on our body. There is also a reiteration of the commandments to keep Kosher. Brett asked what all this had to do with “tea in China”, saying that these commandments do not seem to be related. We discussed how being a child of Hashem, means that our bodies do not necessarily belong to us, and are on loan. We have a responsibility to use our bodies for spiritual purposes, rather than physical purposes such as having tattoos and markings.
We discussed the Kosher laws, specifically the prohibition against mixing milk and meat. We discussed how the prohibition against seething a calf in its mother’s milk is repeated 3 times. The first time is simply to command us not to mix milk and meat. The second time is to command us not to consume milk mixed with meat. And the third time is to remind us to not benefit from mixing milk and meat. We discussed how the Torah commandment does not include fowl such as chicken and turkey, but that the rabbis added the additional laws to include fowl, so that there would be no confusion.
Finally, Yaki as part of his dvar Torah talked about how we each have different personalities and talents, because we each have a unique mission to perform here in this world, and that we have unique ways to grow spiritually. We have some unique ways that we grow spiritually and get ready for the world to come, additional to the ways that we have in common such as keeping kosher and studying the Torah.
This is a summary of what we discussed. No Halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.
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