Shabbat Shalom everyone!
This week’s parasha is Parashat Re’eh, a parasha full of mitzvot and important principles.
The parasha deals with a wide variety of topics, including:
the offering of korbanot and the proper place for them, the laws of kashrut which include a list of the animals, birds, and fish that are permitted and forbidden to eat, the prohibition of meat and milk, and the mitzvot of the Holidays.
One of the central mitzvot in the parasha is the mitzvah of “Shemitat Kesafim” (the remission of debts in the Sabbatical year). The Torah commands that in the seventh year, financial debts are canceled. In addition, the Torah warns us not to avoid lending to the poor out of fear that we won’t get our money back, and stresses the importance of helping the weak and needy: “Lo te’ameitz et levavekha ve’lo tikpotz et yadekha me’akhikha ha’evyon” (Do not harden your heart and do not close your hand against your poor brother).
This important principle, of compassion and helping others, is emphasized throughout the parasha. The Torah promises that if we keep its mitzvot, including the mitzvah of helping others, we will not be under the control of other nations.
May we always be among those who give, and with Hashem help may we be free from the control and harm of other nations.
Shabbat Shalom Umevorach,
Rabbi Eliyahu Barzilai
Join us next week for our High Holidays Preparation Class with Rabbi Barzilai
