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Today’s Parasha is entitled Re’eh, which means “see” and covers Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17. Parasha Re’eh continues Moses’ second sermon to the people. It begins with the famous statement, “See, this day I set before you a blessing and a curse”.
Moses describes the blessings for obedience to the Lord’s commandments, which were given earlier in chapter 11, along with the curses for disobedience. When they enter the Promised Land, the Jewish people will proclaim the blessings on Mount Gerizim and the curses on Mount Ebal. When they conquered the Land, the Israelis were to obey everything Moses told them.
It continues with God telling His people to destroy all the places that the Canaanites used to worship their false gods. God doesn’t want the Israelis to bring offerings and sacrifices to Him the same despicable way the surrounding nations worshiped their gods. The Canaanite people would even kill their own children just to make their false gods happy.
Adonai instructs Moses to tell the people about the consequences for worshipping any other gods and the consequences for idolatry. We are to revere God by keeping His commandments and worship Him and Him alone.
Chapter 14 discusses the differences between clean and unclean animals and those that should not be eaten. The Jewish people are warned not to eat any detestable things. For larger animals, kosher laws permitted the eating of types of animals that both chew their cud and have split hooves. This includes cows, sheep, goats, bison, deer, elk and even giraffe, though beef and lamb are generally the most common meat in the kosher marketplace. For a fish to be kosher for eating, it must have both scales and fins. The reason is because shellfish and some other sea creatures who live on the bottom of the ocean eat the remains of dead fish, and that makes them unclean.
In chapter 15, the Israelis were commanded to cancel debts to each other at the end of every seven years. This did not apply to debts from people of the other nations, only to those within the Jewish community. If Israel obeyed God’s commandments, they would be blessed.
The passage I’ve chosen to highlight today is Deuteronomy 15, verses 4,7 and 8. I chose these verses because they stood out to me. I wanted to focus on the poor, especially since poverty still affects many of us within the body of Messiah, and we tend to forget that we are called to help those among us who are struggling. We should give the poor what they need, just as God has generously given to us.
In verse 4 it states, “There need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, He will richly bless you, if only you fully obey the Lord your God.” This is a sign that we will need to help other people out, because breaking our relationship with God will lead to poverty, and we should be willing to support one another.
In verses 7 and 8 it says, “If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelis in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward them. Rather, be open-handed and freely lend to them whatever they need.” This verse tells us that we need to give with an open heart, and not expect anything in return. After all, Yeshua gave everything for us – His life!
The Brit Chadasha (the New Testament) has a lot to say about how we are to treat the poor. In 1 John 3:17 it says, “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?” Messiah cares for the poor, and He gave Himself freely for us even though He didn’t have to. He was perfect – we were the sinful ones who were in God’s debt, but He paid the price for us.
As you may know, my name is Matthew Marit. I am becoming a Bar Mitzvah today and I’ll be the first in my family to do this. We never really knew that we were Jewish before my grandfather, because he didn’t talk about it. I know it will make him proud to know that I am reincorporating Jewish traditions into my life. I also intend to keep Shabbat and to follow God, keep His commandments, also to read the Bible and to share God’s Word with non-believers. I believe that Yeshua is the Messiah and the Son of God. He is my salvation and my Savior. And while it is very important to help the poor, it is also important to know that the Lord is with us, and that it isn’t by works that we are saved, but by faith.
Being a Bar Mitzvah means a lot because it isn’t just about tradition, but that I take on more responsibility. Starting today, people will look to me to get things done, and I will be accountable for how well I do my work.
At the end of this lesson there are two things I hope you will take away from this parasha. First, we should have mercy on our fellow brothers and sisters in Messiah who are struggling. Secondly, everything we have is from God and we should share the blessings we have with people in need, as Yeshua instructed us.
In Mark chapter 10, Messiah spoke to a rich young man who thought he had sufficiently kept the commandments of the Torah. Yeshua said to him, “One thing you lack: go sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” This is a warning against letting money become an idol to us. Loving our neighbors as ourselves means being generous.
We need to read the Bible every day, and follow Yeshua even if the worst comes, because He might be testing our faith. We need to become kind and generous people, and even be ready to give up everything for Yeshua, because He will return soon. Will we be found obeying His instructions when He comes? I hope so, since we don’t know when that will be.
Thank you.