This week’s portion – Re’eh
(literally, “watch!” as in “Watch, today I hand down to you both a blessing and
a course”) – is, in a certain sense, a direct continuation of last week’s
portion. These notes, therefore, may also follow the same pattern. As you may
recall, last week we introduced the notion of the “love of God” (not to be
confused with the notion of “for the love of God!”). We examined two opposing views attempting to interpret that
notion: the first, according to Halacha (Leibovitz, Rambam), calls for a
more “objective” notion of love, which translates into careful and full
following of all the rules, laws, and Mitzvot given by God. The second interpretation
claims that the notion of “love” is much more personal, more subjective, and
may translated into each person’s internal notion of the (the deepest possible)
connection with his or her own God.
Today I want to continue this
discussion, but focus on the objective viewpoint. I would like to examine –
through the text – the actual ways in which we are to love our God. In
particular, I want to demonstrate how the love of God is a complete
experience of all five senses. Indeed, a true person of faith sees, hears,
taste, smells, and touches – all while exercising her faith. In addition, the
text may lead us to believe that there are other, hidden dimensions to the
exercise of loving God. In short, the love of God – according to the biblical
text – is a multi-sensory, multi-level process. Today I will simply point to
the text of this week’s portion demonstrating that assertion.
The Love of God – An Experience
for All Five Senses
This week’s portion begins with –
and therefore is named after – the order to see (Re’eh). God is ordering
us to “see” the fact that he’s handing us both a blessing and a course; the
blessing, of course, for following him (and as I have explained in the past,
the blessing is in the act of following him; there is no need for
additional rewards – Emu’na Le’shma (a belief for its own sake)). The course,
is, naturally, for the opposite case (And again – no need for classic
“punishment” here; suffice it is that a person goes through his entire life in
the empty and shallow way of – according to this line of thought – not having a
God in their lives; that, alone, constitutes enough of a punishment).
After “to see” comes “to hear”
(or “to listen” – in Hebrew, both collapse into one word in that context.) Last
week, we had the classic “to hear” – Sh’ma Israel; Hear, Oh Israel. But this
week, too, the verb “to hear” appears immediately after the order “to see”:
“The blessing [is that] you will listen to the orders of God (Mitvoth) that I
order upon you today; and the course – if you shall not listen [to the same].
(Deut. 11:26-27). The command “to hear” appears several more times this week,
and in some cases in key settings (see, e.g., “Be guarded and hear everything
that I order upon you today.” Deut. 12:28)
Next comes “to taste.” And this
week’s portion if full of tasting requirements – both in the positive (“you may
eat meat in any of your settlements,” Deut. 12:15), and in the negative (of
which this week’s provides us with the most famous example: “You shall not boil
a kid in its mother’s milk.” Deut. 14:21). Plenty of other examples exist in
this week’s portion to demonstrate how much “tasting” is involved in the loving
of God.
The next sense – “to smell” – is
the single exception to the five senses in that it does not directly appear in
the text. Still, a quick look into the text may reveal that “smell” is all
around us. Take, for example, Deut.
12:27: “You shall offer your burnt offerings, both the flesh and the blood, on
the altar of the Lord your God; and of your other sacrifices, the blood shall
be poured out on the altar of the Lord your God, and you shall eat the flesh.”
Can’t you just “smell” the scene? Again, my point here is not to show that we
are ordered to smell; my point is to show that the experience of a
faithful person – he who truly loves God – are a multi-sense experience
of belief.
Last, but not least, comes the
sense of touch. Naturally, we cannot “touch” God – but we can neither see,
hear, taste, or smell Him either (recall that this is not my point here). But
our experience of faith – our experience of loving God – is full of “touch.” Thus, we are ordered to “tear down” all
non-Jewish pillars (Deut. 12:3); to “burn down” their gods (Id.); to “offer
blessing” (blood and flesh and all) (Deut. 12:14-15); and many, many other
examples where we are ordered to do things “by hand.”
Love of God – Beyond the Five Senses
But the five senses, it seems,
are only the starting point for the experience. This week’s potion text is full of other orders that make the
process of loving God – the process of faith – even more complete than that.
Thus, for example, we are ordered:
“To rejoice before the
Lord.” (Deut. 12:12);
“To do what is good and right in
the eyes of the Lord.” (Deut. 12:28)
“[As to your indigent neighbor] –
you shall open your hand to him, and you shall provide him enough
for his needs.” (Deut. 16:7-8).
These are all but examples –
samples, really – of what is required from the person of faith. He, or she, are
fortunate enough to have God in their lives; but they are also bound by a
360-degree experience, encompassing all their senses – and more – in every step
on their daily lives. As the Sh’ma reads
- this experience is with us when we are at home or outside, when we lie
down in our bed or walk about our ways in the world.
The best summary, as usual, was
given by the portion itself. When the text discusses the law of a “false
prophet” – he who would try to persuade you that you should follow another God,
the text concludes:
“Do not heed to the words of
that prophet or that dream diviner, for the Lord your God is testing your to
see whether you really love the Lord your God with all your heart and all of
your soul; and you shall follow you God, and you shall see Him, and you keep
his Orders (Mithvoth), and you shall listen to His voice, and you shall worship
Him, and you shall stick to Him.”
(Deut. 13:4-5).
Can you think of a more
comprehensive manner to lead one's life?
Shabbat Shalom,
Doron
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