Parshat Reeh 5778
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read in this week's parsha (Chapter 12, Pasuk 20), Ki Yarchiv Hashem Elokecha es Gevulcha Ka'asher Diber Lach V'Amarta Ochla Basar Ki Te'aveh Nafshacha Le'echol Basar Bechol Avas Nafshacha Tochal Basar. When Hashem shall expand your borders (i.e. you shall enter Eretz Yisrael) as He promised you and you shall desire meat, you can eat meat to the full extent of your desire. Rashi teaches on this pasuk that in the desert when Bnei Yisrael were in close proximity to the Mishkan, they were not able to eat meat outside the context of a Karban. Once they would enter Eretz Yisrael, they were allowed to eat meat from desire even if it was not the meat of Karban.
In the very next pasuk we read, Ki Yirchak Mimcha Hamakom Asher Yivchar Hashem Elokecha Lasum Shemo Sham V'Zavachta M'Bekarcha, etc. If the place Hashem shall choose (i.e. the Beis Hamikdash) will be far from you, you shall slaughter your animals and eat in your personal area to your heart's desire.
Rav Tzadok asks how come the Torah needs to repeat the second pasuk after the first. If the Torah teaches that after entering Eretz Yisrael there was permission given to slaughter animals and eat meat, all the more so if one would find himself far from the Beis Hamikdash. Why does the Torah need to repeat this permission in the next pasuk for one who is far away from the Beis Hamikdash, even presumably in Chutz La'Aretz?
We mentioned in last week's parsha that the Sfas Emes derives from the pasuk Eretz Asher Lo Be'Miskanus Tochal Bah Lechem Lo Sechsar Kol Bah that Eretz Yisrael is a unique place where even the eating is spiritual. Rav Tzadok teaches a similar idea in our parsha from the pasukim above. When the Torah teaches about expanding our borders and entering Eretz Yisrael, it says Ki Te'aveh Nafshacha Le'echol Basar Bechol Avas Nafshacha Tochal Basar. The desire for eating meat is described as a Ta'avas Ha'Nefesh; it is a craving of the soul. This is what happens when you enter Eretz Yisrael. The Kedushah of Eretz Yisrael insures that eating becomes a more spiritual act. And when it states in the beginning of the pasuk Ki Yarchiv Hashem Elokecha es Gevulcha, when Hashem shall expand your boundaries, it is referring to a spiritual concept of Harchavas Gevul. In a similar manner to Chazal teaching in Shabbos 118A Kol Ha'Me'aneg es HaShabbos Nosnin Lo Nachalah Blo Metzarim, those who celebrate Shabbos properly receive a portion without borders, upon entering Eretz Yisrael our borders are also expanded. Just as eating on Shabbos is holy and not influenced by the yetzer hara, so too in Eretz Yisrael our borders are expanded and we are not affected by the yetzer hara in eating.
But the next pasuk of Ki Yirchak Mimcha Hamakom is referring to Chutz La'Aretz. When you find yourself far away and in Chutz La'Aretz, then you can't rely on the Kedushas Hamakom to ensure your eating will be without temptation and desire. When you sacrifice in Chutz La'Aretz, it says V'Zavachta M'Bekarcha and the Gemara in Chulin 84 darshens V'Lo Kol Bekarcha; you shall slaughter some of your animals but not all of them. You must ensure that you are not going overboard in your consumption of meat. And the pasuk continues and says Asher Nasan Hashem Lecha. When you understand that all of your bounty comes from Hashem, then you are able to guarantee that even in Chutz La'Aretz your eating will be an act of holiness and not based solely on temptation and desire.
This trait is derived from Yaakov Avinu who when he found himself alone on the road, he prayed to Hashem that He should provide for him (Bereishis, Chapter 28, Pasuk 20), V'Nasan Li Lechem Le'echol. When we establish Hashem as our provider, then our eating will necessarily be holy. There can't be yetzer hara when there is acknowledgment of Hashem as the Provider. This is the meaning of the pasuk in Mishlei (Chapter 30, Pasuk 8), Hatrifeini Lechem Chuki. We ask for our bread which is provided by Hashem and chakuk, established for us by Hashem as necessary for us to serve Him in this world. When we have this realization, then our eating is holy regardless of where we might be.
Good Shabbos
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