Transcript
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Hello children. In this week's Torah
portion, Moshe continues to rebuke the
Jewish people before they enter the land
of Israel. This time he begins with the
words, "Behold, I set before you today a
blessing and a curse." What does this
mean? Moshe says to each and every
member of the Jewish people, "Listen
carefully. You have free choice. Before
you are two paths, the path of blessing.
If you listen to the commandments of the
Lord your God, you will receive
wonderful blessings. Or the path of the
curse. If you do not listen and follow
other gods, you will have troubles. The
choice is yours. God does not force you.
He gives you the power to choose for
yourselves.
Moshe tells the people that when they
arrive in the land of Israel, they will
perform a special ceremony. On Mount
Garism, they will proclaim the blessings
and on Mount Eel, they will proclaim the
curses. In this way, the entire nation
will always remember that they have a
choice. Now, Moshe says something very
important. In the land of Israel, it
will not be permitted to offer
sacrifices anywhere as was done in the
desert. Instead, God will choose a
special place for this, which in the
future will be the temple in Jerusalem.
Only there will it be allowed to offer
burnt offerings and peace offerings, to
bring tithes and gifts, to celebrate the
major festivals, and to eat from the
sacred sacrifices. Why does God want
there to be one central place? So that
the Jewish nation will unite around the
service of God.
This week's portion teaches us again
about which animals are permitted and
forbidden to eat. Moshe wants to make
sure that the people remember this very
well before entering the land.
The animals that the Torah says are
permitted to eat are ox, sheep, goat,
ram, deer, robuk, and gazelle, which are
certain wild animals. The animal must
both have split hooves and chew its cud.
Now the Torah lists the forbidden birds
and mentions their names.
The eagle, the oafra, the osprey, and
all birds of prey. Only domestic birds
like chicken, goose, and duck are
permitted. And after we've learned which
animals are permitted and which are
forbidden, the Torah commands, you shall
not cook a kid in its mother's milk.
This is the basis for all the laws of
meat and milk which prohibit mixing meat
and milk. And there are many details in
this commandment. Kosher fish are only
those that have fins and scales. These
are considered the fish that are
permitted to eat.
this special commandment which is
observed only in the land of Israel.
Every seven years in the seventh year,
it is forbidden to work the land. No
sewing and no harvesting. The land must
rest just like on Shabbat. Whatever
grows on its own is free for everyone,
for the poor and the rich alike. All
debts are erased. Anyone who owes money,
the debt is forgiven. What an amazing
law. This way we learn that everything
belongs to God and he takes care of the
poor and the weak. for the poor will
never cease from the land.
Moshe says something important. You
shall surely open your hand to your
brother, to your poor and needy in your
land. There will always be people who
need help, and it is our duty to help
them. Don't be stingy, but give with a
generous heart.
[Music]
Now, the Torah teaches us about the
Hebrew slave. If a Jew is forced to sell
himself as a slave because he owes a lot
of money and has no way to pay, then
after 6 years he goes free.
It is forbidden to send him away
empty-handed. He is given sheep, grain,
and wine so that he can start a new
life. As stated in the verse, you shall
surely give him. But if the slave loves
his master and does not want to leave,
they pierce his ear with an all and he
stays until the Jubilee year, which is
the 50th year.
Do you know why they pierced his ear?
Because this ear heard at Mount Si that
God commands the Jewish people not to
sell themselves as slaves since we are
servants of God alone. Therefore, this
ear will be pierced with an all.
Another topic mentioned in the portion,
the firstborn of animals. Every
firstborn of a cow, sheep or goat is
holy to God. It is given to the priest
and they eat it in the temple. But if it
has a blemish, it is eaten at home like
regular meat.
Now we've reached the three pilgrimage
festivals, Passover, Shàuat, and Sukkot.
Moshe reminds the Jewish people of the
three major holidays on which every
Jewish man is required to go up to
Jerusalem, the festival of Passover,
which is the festival of Matsot. Do you
remember the Exodus from Egypt? We eat
matzah for seven days. No leavened bread
is brought into the temple. The festival
of Shvat, the festival of the first
fruits. During the wheat harvest, the
first fruits are brought to the temple,
giving thanks to God for the crop, and
the festival of Sukkot. After we have
gathered all the grain, we rejoice on
Sukkot for seven days, remembering how
God protected us in the desert. And it
is forbidden to come to the temple
without a gift for God, each according
to his ability. Moshe warns, "If someone
comes and says he is a prophet and
performs signs and wonders, but tells
you, let us worship other gods, do not
believe him." It's a test from God. God
wants to see if you will stay loyal to
him, even when someone tries to tempt
you. Moshe says, "You are children of
the Lord your God." What does that mean?
That we are God's children and he loves
us like a father.
Therefore, do not make cuts on your body
out of sorrow. Do not shave your head
bald out of grief because you are a holy
nation. The main message, the Jewish
people are about to enter the land of
Israel and begin a new life.
But with this great freedom also comes
great responsibility. Every day you will
need to choose whether to walk in God's
way and receive blessings or to go your
own way and face troubles.
In the next portion, we will see how the
Jewish people continue preparing to
enter the land
and which additional laws they will
learn for a good life in the Holy Land.
