Parsaht Re’eh; Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17 By: Rabbi Denise L. Eger

Re’eh is a very long Torah portion. In part, Parshat Re’eh’s length can be attributed to Moses’ trying to make sure every detail of Torah is conveyed to the Children of Israel before he ascends to heaven. These five chapters of Torah cover many diverse laws and statutes. Many have to deal with what happens when the Children of Israel will actually cross over the Jordan and live in the holy land of Israel. “These are the laws and rules which you must carefully observe in the land that Adonai, God of your fathers, is giving you to posses as long as you live on the earth” (Deut. 12:1).

Their first objective must be to purify the land from idolatry. “You must destroy all the sites at which the nations you are to dispossess worshipped their gods, whether on lofty mountains and on hills or under any luxuriant tree. Tear down their altars, smash their pillars, put their sacred posts to the fire, and cut down the images of their gods, obliterating their name from that site” (Deut. 12:2-3). This is shocking to us. The Children of Israel are told to destroy the local peoples’ places of worship. The many pagan religions of the area of the Land of Israel are seen as a pariah and plague that infects God’s holy and chosen land of Eretz Yisrael. Like a disease on the land, the pagan altars and places of sacrifice must be dealt with forcefully and must be purged.

Why is this the manner in which God tells the Children of Israel to deal with the locals who are living in this land already?

First and foremost, there is something unique about this land according to God. This land is unlike any other in that it is holy land, set apart, unique, and according to the Israelite view of the world Divine in its essence. Thus the presence of pagan altars and their gods and goddesses made the land itself impure. The only way to purify and ensure that the sacrifices that will be made to Adonai are not tainted is to rid the land of all pagan influences. We have seen this command before in Exodus and earlier in Deuteronomy. This portion tells us too that God will centralize the Israelite worship. God will choose a place to build the Temple and it is there that the Children of Israel, all the tribes, will worship. “…look only to the site that Adonai your God will choose,” (Deut. 12:5). Moses and God wants there to be no confusion as to how to worship Adonai. They want ensure that Israelite religion will remain as God instructed and local practices should not creep in Israelite worship.

Often when a new power comes in local shrines and worship sites are co-opted. There are many cases in history of synagogues that became churches and then later mosques and then churches once again depending upon who controlled specific land or areas. One of the reasons for the command to destroy these pagan altars is so that the Children of Israel do not co-opt any of these pagan holy sites but wait for God to choose the site that the Mishkan will come to rest and eventually the Temple will be built.

Secondly, these local ways are tempting to the Israelites. On their journey thus far they have already been tempted by the Moabite women into paganism (See Parshat Pinchas) and their idol worship used as a tool militarily against the Children of Israel as a weakness. Ridding the land of the local pagan sites helps to guard against such temptations for the Israelites and such weaknesses. As the land was to be purified so too the People of Israel were to be pure and not diluted with foreigners that might bring their gods and their ways to weaken Israel’s commitment to its God and to the mitzvot.

But today these verses give us heartache and trouble. It is difficult to imagine that we might destroy another’s place of worship. They are hardly conducive to interfaith dialogue!

What is the way we can understand these verses today?

We must hear the voice of torah that asks us emphatically to guard ourselves against idolatry at every turn. We must smash any idolatrous practice that has crept into our own lives. This isn’t to be directed at other religions or other traditions but we must look deep within our own daily rituals and practices to make sure that we live up to our Jewish ideals. When we turn our backs on Jewish living it is as if we are practicing idolatry.

So this week take some time to think through and examine your own heart and actions and as our prayerbook says, “ V’taher libeinu l’avdecha b’emet- May we purify our hearts to serve You in truth.”

Posted by Aaron at August 6, 2007 05:22 PM