HOWEVER, THERE WILL BE NO NEEDY AMONG YOU, FOR THE LORD WILL SURELY BLESS YOU IN THE LAND THE LORD, YOUR GOD, IS GIVING YOU FOR AN INHERITANCE TO POSSESS.

(Devarim 15:4)

FOR THERE WILL NEVER CEASE TO BE NEEDY WITHIN THE LAND. THEREFORE, I COMMAND YOU, SAYING, YOU SHALL SURELY OPEN YOUR HAND TO YOUR BROTHER, TO YOUR POOR ONE, AND TO YOUR NEEDY ONE IN YOUR LAND.

(Devarim 15:11)

 

However, there will be no needy among you - This relates to the later verse, if there be needy among you, and the word "however" [efes] is like ve'ulam ["however"]... The sense of these verses is as follows: From the fact that I commanded you not to exact repayment of loans from your neighbor [in the seventh year] it can be inferred that there will be needy people among you in need of loans, and this will be difficult for you to accept since God promised to bless all the work of your hands. Therefore this verse says you should know that the original [divine] intention was that it was improper for there to be any needy among you at all, since that was the goal of the Lord shall bless you in the land... but all of that would only happen if you truly hearken, etc. (verse 5), for then the blessing with which the Lord blessed you would be realized, and then you will lend to many nations, etc (verse 6). However, if it occurs at some time that Israel does not perform God's will, then there will be needy among your bothers... Behold, I command you not to strengthen your heart (verse 7), but rather surely open. And if you come back and ask how there can be a commandment whose application is put into doubt by the possibility that Israel will observe God's laws forever so that there will be no needy people - that is why He added for there will never cease to be needy within the land... therefore I command you (verse11). That is to say, it was already known and revealed to God that Israel would sin in the future. This is the correct reading of the verses, and it concurs with the Sages' dictum...

Needy [evyon] - this term refers to one who yearns and desires for all [of life's necessities] and cannot find anything. He is not like the poor person who usually finds what he seeks. The world cannot exist without the poor, even if everyone is righteous, since that would nullify the commandments of charity, giving, loaning, and the like. Here, however, He guarantees that there will be no needy among you if you truly hearken, etc. And it is entirely possible for there to be rich and poor in the Land of Israel, but the poor will be able to satisfy their needs and make do, and so there will be no needy.

(R. Yitzhak Shmuel Reggio 15:14)

 

... Those who willingly accept the yoke of Torah and commandments do not have the right to exempt themselves, to remove from themselves these obligations and pass them on to He who opens His hands and satisfies the desire of every living thing. We are charged with a great mission, to make great efforts to strive always towards a reality in which there will be no needy and poor in the Land and in the world.

(Y. Leibowitz: Sheva Shanim shel Sihot al Parashat ha'Shavu'a, p. 836)

 

 

Dedicated to the memory

Of my grandmother, Ada bat Naftali Hertz ve'Blumah z"l

Who passed away on the 4^th of Av, 5766.

However, you shall not eat the blood; you shall spill it on the ground like water (Devarim 12:16)

Deborah Greniman

The words "blood" [dam] and "spill" [shafakh] form a pair which appears throughout the Five Books of the Torah. We find them first in Bereishit (9:4-7):

But, flesh with its soul, its blood, you shall not eat. But your blood, of your souls, I will demand [an account]; from the hand of every beast I will demand it, and from the hand of man, from the hand of each man, his brother, I will demand the soul of man. Whoever spills the blood of man through man shall his blood be spilled, for in the image of God He made man.¹

This pair of words makes its last appearance in the Torah in parashat Shoftim, when they are spoken by the elders of the town located closest to the place where a murdered corpse is found in a field (21:7): Our hands did not spill this blood and our eyes did not see. In between these two extremes, the spilling of blood appears in two other contexts: in the fourth chapter of Vayikra, where the blood of the sin offering is spilt on the base of the olah altar, and in both Bamidbar and Devarim in connection with the cities of refuge: and innocent blood [of the unintentional killer] shall not be spilled in your land (Devarim 19:10). And note: the verb shafakh appears in the Torah almost always in the context of spilling blood - human or animal. However, it is clear from the contexts in which it appears, and from the way it is used in other parts of Scripture, that it is not only used in connection with blood.

In our own parasha, the motif of blood-spilling appears in the context of animals being slaughtered not for sacrificial purposes, but in order for human beings to enjoy eating them:

However, in every desire of your soul, you may slaughter and eat meat in all your cities, according to the blessing of the Lord, your God, which He gave you; the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the deer, and as of the gazelle. However, you shall not eat the blood; you shall spill it on the ground like water. (12:15-16)

And again:

When the Lord, your God, expands your boundary, as He has spoken to you, and you say, "I will eat meat," because your soul desires to eat meat, you may eat meat, according to every desire of your soul. If the place the Lord, your God, chooses to put His Name there, will be distant from you, you may slaughter of your cattle and of your sheep, which the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat in your cities, according to every desire of your soul. But as the deer and the gazelle are eaten, so may you eat them; the unclean and the clean alike may eat of them. However, be strong not to eat the blood, for the blood is the soul; and you shall not eat the soul with the flesh. You shall not eat it, you shall spill it on the ground, like water. You shall not eat it, in order that it be good for you, and for your children after you, when you do what is proper in the eyes of the Lord. (12:20-25)

As the researcher Jacob Milgrom has pointed out in the article on "Blood" in Encyclopedia Judaica, this prohibition is unique to the People Israel; unlike the sacrificial rite, it is not found among other peoples of the ancient Near East. Various rationales have been given for the prohibition on eating blood. RaMBaM cites medical considerations (Guide of the Perplexed 3:48). Other commentators point to the connection between the eating of blood and magical rites or the worship of strange Gods.² In his commentary on Bereishit 9:4, Rabbi S.R. Hirsch refers to our parasha while discussing the prohibition:

For the blood is hadam, the prototype of the body (the word dam itself indeed really means the symbol, the metaphor, the representative), it is the blood by means of which all the working of the soul on the body is carried out, therefore, For it is the blood that atones for the soul (Vayikra 17:11), it effects atonement, not on itself, but through the soul which it represents. Only in Mishneh Torah (Devarim 12, 23 etc.) where with repeated warnings the prohibition against eating blood is given, and it is pointed out how our well-being and that of our children is connected with it, there it says - apparently materialistically - but in connection with the context of all the preceding verses surely metaphorically, actually for the blood is the soul, so that we and our children should realize with the most definite certainty how eating blood would incorporate animal desires and tendencies into us.  (Levy translation)

Near this passage, Rabbi Hirsch mentions that no comparison can be made between the soul - the living spirit - and the material blood, but blood is the "material representative of the soul" in that it is the means by which the soul controls the body. Therefore, the prohibition on eating blood does not apply to humanity in general, because in general, "the body of the animal can be transformed into the body of the human" (as when meat is eaten and assimilated). This prohibition applies only to the Israelites - on the one hand, because of the atoning function of blood spilt (or thrown, or sprinkled) upon the altar, and, on the other hand, in order to protect the Israelites away from animalistic tendencies. Commenting on our own parasha, Rabbi Hirsch has this to say about the words you shall spill it on the ground, like water:

All blood that is not designated for the altar - blood that is spilled on the ground - is treated like water and it facilitates the sprouting of seeds, as does water.

These words are a continuation of his comments on Vayikra 17:13 (and he shall spill the blood and cover it with dust):

However, once the blood is released from the animal's body it can serve a function only in the plant realm: its place is in the dust which sustains plants.

It seems to me that since Rabbi Hirsch was himself aware of the scientific advances of his age and even boasted of them - as we can see in his commentary's discussion of the blood's function in the body - it would not be amiss if we point to connections between his comments and our own present situation. Hirsch was careful to formulate a sharp distinction between the human soul, which, he says, originates from God's spirit, and the souls of animals, which originate from the ground. It is precisely because of this distinction that the great care taken in dealing with animal blood can guarantee the preservation of human spirituality. In addition, Hirsch points to the ecological function taken on by the blood when it is spilled on the ground, where it re-enters the cycle of life.

While today's ritual slaughter is supposed to also reflect these values, contemporary reality distances us (both meat-eaters as well as vegetarians such as myself) from them, inasmuch as the raising and slaughter of animals intended for consumption as food takes place far away from our eyes. Does someone who buys meat from the supermarket freezer remain aware of the industrial processes that stand behind the cellophane wrapped packages - processing that neglects both the animal's soul as well as its ecological role, and that even neglects the souls of those human beings who come into contact with the animal in the course of their work? Stories such as those recently revealed in a kosher slaughter and meat packing plant in Pottsville, Ohio, USA show us how distant these matters remain from the eye and the heart.

And what of the connection alluded to by the Torah between the spilling of animal blood and the spilling of human blood? Consider, in particular, the words of Vayikra 17:3-4:

Any man of the House of Israel, who slaughters an ox, a lamb, or a goat inside the camp, or who slaughters outside the camp, but does not bring it to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting to offer up as a sacrifice to the Lord before the Tabernacle of the Lord, this [act] shall be counted for that man as blood; he has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his people.

We also try to keep the spilling of human blood outside our range of vision - and sometimes even beyond the range of our soldiers' eyes - when it is accomplished through bombing from a distance, by airplanes, by missiles and long-range artillery, so that we can even avoid noticing phenomena such as the use of cluster munitions in populated areas. The use of such weapons, which have an important role in preserving the lives of our troops, requires that we remain alert to the spilling of blood that occurs far out of our sight and which can easily be forgotten. We who observe prohibitions, must take care that innocent blood not be spilled in our land.

1. When combined with the next verse, And you, be fruitful and multiply; swarm upon the earth and multiply thereon, we find here the first occurrence of the slogan, "Make love not war."

2. See the article on "Dam " in Avraham Sternberg's (editor), Enziklopedia haHilkhatit Refu'it.

Deborah Greniman edits Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women's Studies & Gender Issues. She works as an editor for the National Academy of Sciences and is a translator and author.

 

The Connection between "Expansion of Boundaries", Distancing of "the Place", and the Appetite for Meat

When the Lord enlarges your territory, as He has promised you, and you say, "I shall eat some meat - teaches that man yearns [to satisfy] his appetite only upon excess expansion, "The lion does not roar unless he has a vessel full with meat" (Berakhot 32). Therefore He said: When the Lord enlarges your territory - this will lead to the tearing away of the mask of shame from your face to the point where you outspokenly declare, I shall eat some meat. This is somewhat similar to the throwing off of the yoke of heaven and to investigate the place of sacrifices. The reason for all this is the place where the Lord has chosen to establish his name is too far from you - the closer one is to God's sanctuary, the greater is his fear of the Kingdom of Heaven, as is written, And you shall be in awe of My sanctuary. This means that the sanctuary will be the source of your awe of the Kingdom of Heaven. The place... is too far from you distances God from your inner organs, and therefore you will constantly have a voracious appetite, and you will not be ashamed to say I shall eat some meat, so I permit it to you, and you may slaughter from your cattle... as I have instructed you - not at all times, but only occasionally, when the appetite is overwhelming.

(Kli Yakar, Devarim 12:21)

 

Why Did the Torah Not Specify the Holy Site?

...In my opinion, there is also no doubt that the place singled out by Abraham in virtue of prophetic inspiration was known to Moses our Master and to many others. For Abraham had recommended to them that that place should be a house of worship, just as the translator [Onquelos] sets forth when he says: Abraham worshipped and prayed in that place and said before the Lord: Here the generations will worship, etc. The fact that this place is not stated explicitly when mentioned in the Torah, but only hinted at by means of the words Which the Lord shall choose... is due in my opinion to three wise considerations. The first - lest nations hold fast to the place and fight for it with great violence, knowing as they do that this place is the final purpose of the Law on earth. The second - lest those who then owned the place ravage and devastate it to the limit of their power. The third, and the strongest - lest every tribe demand that this place be within its allotted portion and seek to conquer it, which would lead to conflict and sedition, as happened with regard to the priesthood. Therefore the command was given that the Chosen Temple will be built only after the elevation of a King, so that only one would be qualified to give commands and quarrels would cease...

 (RaMBaM, Guide for the Perplexed, III, 45)

 

...It is true that only after the establishment of the monarchy in Israel, and King David's conquering of Jerusalem from the Jebusites, did he decide on the basis of his considerations to establish it as the chosen place and to order that the Temple be erected there.

The deciding factor in this case was the royal command. Had the Torah decreed at the outset that the temple was to be built in the portion of a specific tribe, it might have led to quarrels and bloodshed because of tribal envy. Therefore the Torah refrained from setting aside and specifying which would be the tribe in whose portion the Temple was to be constructed.

(Y. Leibowitz, Sheva Shanim shel Sihot al Parashat haShavua, pp. 828-829)

 

Dangerous and Bloody Religious Wars

Cain said to Abel when they were in the field... What were they talking about? They said: "Come let us divide up the world" - one took land, the other, all movable property. One said, "You are standing on my land." The other said, "You are wearing what is mine." This one says: Undress, and the other said: Fly away. During the argument, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

Rabbi Yehoshua of Sakhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: Both took land, and both took movables. What were they arguing about? This one said: "The Temple will be built on my property," and the other said, "It will built on my property," as is written (Micha 3) Zion will be plowed as a field. Subsequently, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

(Bereishit Rabba 22)

 

 

 

If you enjoy Shabbat Shalom, please consider contributing towards its publication and distribution.

• Hebrew edition distributed in Israel $700
• English edition distributed via email $ 100

Issues may be dedicated in honor of an event, person, simcha, etc. Requests must be made 3-4 weeks in advance to appear in the Hebrew, 10 days in advance to appear in the English email.

In Israel, checks made out to Oz VeShalom may be sent to Oz VeShalom-P.O.B. 4433, Jerusalem 91043.

US and British tax-exempt contributions to Oz VeShalom may be made through:

New Israel Fund, POB 91588, Washington, DC 20090-1588, USA

New Israel Fund of Great Britain, 26 Enford Street, London W1H 2DD, Great Britain

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE NEW ISRAEL FUND IS NO LONGER ACCEPTING DONATIONS UNDER $100.

PEF will also channel donations and provide a tax-exemption. Donations should be sent to P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds, Inc., 317 Madison Ave., Suite 607, New York, New York 10017 USA

All contributions should be marked as donor-advised to Oz ve'Shalom, the Shabbat Shalom project.

 

About us

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom is a movement dedicated to the advancement of a civil society in Israel. It is committed to promoting the ideals of tolerance, pluralism, and justice, concepts that have always been central to Jewish tradition and law.

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom shares a deep attachment to the land of Israel and it no less views peace as a central religious value. It believes that Jews have both the religious and the national obligation to support the pursuit of peace. It maintains that Jewish law clearly requires us to create a fair and just society, and that co-existence between Jews and Arabs is not an option but an imperative.

5,000 copies of a 4-page peace oriented commentary on the weekly Torah reading are written and published by Oz VeShalom/Netivot Shalom and they are distributed to over 350 synagogues in Israel and are sent overseas via email. Our web site is www.netivot-shalom.org.il.