
Re’eh 5765 Volume XII Number 51 Toras Aish Thoughts From Across the Torah Spectrum and undoing it will remove that protection.) The wording RABBI DOV KRAMER in Nedarim is actually "things that are permitted that Taking a Closer Look others treated as forbidden, you are not allowed to treat them as permitted in order to negate [their stringency]." o not eat any meat of [even a kosher] animal So Rashi is not explaining our verse to mean that we that has not been ritually slaughtered; give it to should just add on extra stringencies or prohibitions, but “Dthe [non-Jewish] non-idol worshipper that lives that we should avoid doing otherwise permitted actions within your gates [so that] he can eat it, or sell it to a that might cause others to make a detrimental change non-Jewish [idol worshipper that lives elsewhere], for in their behavior. you are a holy nation to Hashem your G-d" (Devarim Let's re-examine our verse now. We are told 14:21). Sounds pretty straightforward-due to your that we are not allowed to eat the meat of a kosher distinct and holy status, there are foods that you can't animal that has not been slaughtered properly, but we eat which non-Jews can. Rashi, however, explains the can give it to a non-Jew to eat. Wait a minute, though! latter part of the verse very differently. Aren't we afraid that this will influence us, and we will "For you are a holy nation to G-d' [means] make come to eat this same kind of meat? No, we're not, yourself holy with things that are permitted for you- "because you are a distinct and holy nation," and the things that are permitted which others treated as if they non-Jew chowing down on such meat will not be were forbidden, do not permit them in their presence." misconstrued as something Jews can do. The verse Mizrachi says that Rashi didn't follow the seemingly can refer to becoming holier by prohibiting things that obvious understanding of the verse because keeping aren't in trinsically prohibited, while still being linked to kosher would be appropriate and necessary even our ability to give our non-kosher meat to a non-Jew. without having that extra level of distinction and holiness We will not do things that are prohibited just because (see Gur Aryeh for a similar approach). we see non-Jews doing them, but seeing fellow Jews Even so, Rashi's explanation seems to come doing things that are prohibited may affect us. completely out of left field. For one thing, the Torah very Therefore, you can give non-kosher meat to a non-Jew clearly connects the two, with one being the cause of to eat, but you can't do things that other Jews have the other. It is "because" you are holy that you can't eat treated as prohibited (at least not in front of them). things that non-Jews can eat (non-Jews are prohibited from eating certain things too, such as blood, or meat The Talmud (Shabbos 108a) records a that was severed before the animal died). If our being conversation between a non-believer and Rabbi holy and distinct refers to something totally different (i.e. Yehoshua HaGarsi regarding the parchment Tefilin treating things that aren't forbidden as if they are), why (and, by extension, Torah scrolls) are written on. After is it linked to the prohibition of eating the meat of an explaining that non-kosher animals are disqualified animal that did not undergo ritual slaughtering? because it says (Shemos 13:9, referring to wearing Additionally, they are both in the same verse! Tefilin), "in order that G-d's Torah should be in your Why would the Torah put a reference to a totally mouth," i.e. written on something permitted to be put in separate commandment together with the prohibition your mouth, Rabbi Yehoshua was asked why they can against eating non-kosher meat? be written on skins of kosher animals that were not The commandment that Rashi quotes is ritually slaughtered, as they are not kosher either. He referenced several times in the Talmud (see Pesachim answered by giving a parable of two men that had to be 50b/51a and Nedarim 81b). From the context, it is executed; one was killed by the king himself, while the apparent that the reason to treat something that is other was killed by the king's executioner. Just as the intrinsically permitted as prohibited (once others have former is considered more important, so would an treated it as such) is to avoid causing those others to animal killed by G-d Himself be considered more worthy stop treating it as being prohibited. (One explanation than one killed by G-d's messenger (the shochet, who given is so that they won't stop treating other things that slaughtered the animal). Therefore, if a slaughtered really are prohibited as if they are permissible. Another animal is valid for Tefilin, certainly an animal that died is that the extra prohibition was intended as a means of by G-d's hand (before the shochet had a chance to) is ensuring that a real (related) prohibition is not violated, valid. Rabbi Yehoshua was then asked why we can't eat 2 Toras Aish "Because you are a holy nation," and by fulfilling the TORAS AISH IS A WEEKLY PARSHA commandment of shechita (ritual slaughter), you have NEWSLETTER DISTRIBUTED VIA EMAIL AND THE imbued the meat with holiness, giving it a more direct WORLD WIDE WEB AT HTTP://AISHDAS.ORG. link to G-d. And eating meat less worthy is inappropriate FOR MORE INFO EMAIL [email protected] for a distinct and holy nation. © 2005 Rabbi D. Kramer The material presented in this publication was collected from publicly available electronic mail, computer archives and the RABBI AVI WEISS UseNet. It is being presented with the permission of the respective authors. Toras Aish is an independent publication, and does not necessarily reflect the views of any given synagogue. Shabbat Forshpeis TO DEDICATE THIS NEWSLETTER PLEASE CALL he first word in our portion re-eh is one of the most 973-472-0180 OR EMAIL [email protected] powerful terms found in the Torah. In fact, G-d is Tdescribed as a ro-eh on three different levels. such "worthy" meat, to which he responded that the The first time the word is found in the Torah, Torah explicitly prohibited it. (The non-believer then the Torah states that after creating light or energy, praised Rabbi Yehoshua for his answers.) "vayar Elokim ki tov, G-d saw it was good." (Genesis The truth is, though, that the second part of the 1:4) Obviously an anthropomorphism. Still, as G-d saw, conversation was only meant for this non-believer. As so do we have the power to see. the Or Zarua writes (Hilchos Tefilin #536) in the name On a deeper level, re-eh means to see in the of his Rebbe, Rabbeinu Simcha, the real answer (as sense of empathizing for the other. Note the description given in the Yerushalmi, Megillah 1:9) is that the Torah just prior to the deluge in the time of Noah. There the means we must use the kind (species) of animal Torah states, "and the Lord saw (vayar Hashem) that permitted to be eaten, not a specific animal that could the wickedness of man was great on the earth." have actually been eaten. Based on the Jewish (Genesis 6:5) This could mean that G-d saw with the perspective of how G-d runs the world, the parable of sense of feeling the pain and horror which was the king and his executioner would really not apply to unfolding-the wickedness of man whom he had created. how the animal died anyway. As G-d felt the pain of humankind, so too should all The Rambam (Moreh Nevuchim 3:17) lists 4 people created in G-d's image empathize with the other. heretical approaches to how G-d runs the world, and There is yet another understanding of ra-ah. then the Torah's approach. According to the third Ra-ah could have covenantal connotations-that is G-d heretical approach, every single thing that happens is seen with an eye on establishing and fulfilling His the result of a direct, specific decree from the Creator, covenant with His people. Indeed, the first time ra-ah including what happens to each and every animal in the appears after Avraham (Abraham) and Sarah were world. According to the Jewish perspective, however, chosen, the Torah states "and the Lord appeared although G-d runs the entire world completely, his (veyera) to Avraham and said 'to your seed I will give decrees are only specific for humans; what happens to this land.'" (Genesis 12:7) any other creature is the result of the combination of His Re-eh as used in our portion seems to echo the "general" decrees (i.e. the laws of nature) the free will covenantal approach. Note that when G-d covenantally exercised by man, and collateral damage from decrees chooses Avraham, the Torah states, "I will bless those issued against man. (This is by no means a who bless you and curse those who curse you." controversial approach, as it is echoed by many others, (Genesis 12:3) Similarly in our portion, the Torah states- including the Ramban, Rabbeinu Bachye, the Sefornu, "see (re-eh), I have placed before you a blessing and a etc.) curse." (Deuteronomy 11:26) Therefore, an animal that dies of its own cannot And just as Avraham first built an altar to G-d in be said to have been killed directly by G-d, only as a Shechem-Elon Moreh (Genesis 12:6) and his consequence of divine decrees that were not rendezvous with G-d reaches a crescendo in specifically intended for that animal.
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