רְאֵ֗ה

 Shalom!

    The first aliyah of this parashah tells us to SEE the blessing and the curse that God places before us. How does one SEE a blessing?

    Could it be that the blessing is the mitzvah itself? As we see ourselves doing it? I think that makes a lot of sense. And as we see the blessing we are performing, God graciously continues to bless us by allowing us the privilege to continue doing mitzvah after mitzvah!

    Targum Yehonatan (the Aramaic elucidation of the Hebrew scriptures) cites the word "curse" in this verse as "its transmutation" - so that the verse, according to Rabbi Yehonatan, reads:

    "See, I set before you this day blessing and its transmutation."

So, there is only blessing in its true form and blessing in its changed form. Meaning nothing that comes from the hand of our Heavenly Father is ever bad, even - especially! - if it's dressed in ugly clothing. The Sages of Israel say that if something comes to us from on high that looks like a disaster, we should know that it contains an incredible blessing inside - the outer covering is just the klipa.

    Rabbi Anava says that if HaShem wants to get a great blessing to us, He disguises it in gross outer garments so as to get it through the customs department of HaSatan easily. If it's too yucky to touch, they just wave it through!

    Rabbi Shaul (the apostle Paul) was obviously aware of this truth, since he says in Romans 8:28:

    "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose."

    Devarim (Deuteronomy) Chapter 13 speaks a lot about when people may try to draw us away from God and His ways. In this chapter we're told that the only remedy for staying close to God is to LOVE Him, hence the greatest commandment is the Sh'ma: To love the LORD your God with all your heart and soul and strength. The only way to be sure of staying in the Truth is to cleave to our Creator.

    Another life lesson for us comes from Devarim 12:15-16:

    "But whenever you desire, you may slaughter and eat meat in any of your settlements, according to the blessing that your God YHWH has granted you. The ritually pure and ritually impure alike may partake of it, as the gazelle and the deer.

    But you must not partake of the blood; you shall pour it out on the ground like water."

    So back then, the eating of meat in every backyard braai had to only be undertaken once the blood - which contains the nefesh (one of the levels of the soul) - had been drained and returned to the earth from which it came. Why do we think it's different today? God said repeatedly when He was giving the Torah to Moses that His laws were for all time, a perpetual statute, and that they would only pass away if heaven and earth themselves passed away. That hasn't happened yet.

    Even for those of us who put our meat or chicken in salted water to remove the blood that remains in it, we should go a step further and pour that bloody liquid onto the earth. The life is in the blood.

    Erev tov!