Re'eh Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17 When I read Re-eh, I am struck by how we still struggle with how to be an individual in a complex society, and at the same time, a Jew. How do we maintain a personal and a group persona without compromising one for the other ? The main concern of this exhortation from Moses is to prevent the Israelites from losing their sense of who they are by blending their ideas with those of the native Canaanites. These ideas are conveyed in ritual and legal practices. Moses insists that the Israelites destroy, not the people, but the worship sites and objects; that they destroy their enemies’ ideas. Don’t follow their ways, don’t even ask about them. Attack anyone who tries to lead you to these awful practices, even a close friend, relative, or an entire town if they are known to have adopted Canaanite practices. This portion is full of strict measures to take to preserve the identity of the ancient Israelites in contrast to their Canaanite neighbors. Their terrible abominable practices apparently included the sacrifice of children in fire, the slashing of their skin with knives as a mourning practice, and the eating of animals considered “abhorrent” to God. But we receive this description from enemies of the Canaanites; it is difficult to reconstruct their ideology from that. What we can surmise is that Canaanite religion had great appeal and was widely practiced in ancient Israel. It helps to remember the origin of the book of Deuteronomy, the fifth volume in the Torah, in which we find this week’s portion. It was apparently written much later than the rest of the Torah, sparking an upheaval of religious reform. It reprises most of the main themes and laws of the Torah, as a series of final orations delivered by Moses before his death. It emphasizes eradicating idolatry and keeping the covenant so as to live long in the land. During the reign of King Josiah, one of the last Davidic kings of Judah (640-609BCE), the scroll that is probably Deuteronomy was “found” in the Temple. Recent kings (Amon, Manasseh) had established Canaanite priests and cult practices. Prophets railed that God would not put up with this for long. There was a serious political risk of attack by neighboring countries, and it was believed that the pure practice of the Israelite religion might move God to maintain the people in the land. Josiah restored the Temple after it had fallen into neglect under past kings. It was during this renovation process that the high priest Hilkiah “found” the scroll that is likely the heart of Deuteronomy. As it’s told in II Kings 22:11, “When the king heard the words of the scroll of the teaching, he rent his clothes,” and gives orders to “inquire of the Lord” what to do because, “great indeed must be the wrath of the Lord that has been kindled against us because our fathers did not obey the words of this scroll.…” The way they inquire is to go to the prophetess Hulda, one of very few named female prophets in the Bible. She proclaims that God will destroy the land and the people because of they have shown disloyalty to God through sacrificing to other gods. Josiah responds by gathering the people, reading out the whole Torah, ridding the Temple itself of the many idols and Canaanite ritual objects that had been used there. He throws out the priests of Baal and Asherah, and reestablishes the practice of Passover, which had not been done since “the days of the chieftains.” (II Kings 23:22) It is confusing to read Deuteronomy, set as part of the tale of the ancient Israelites, and remember where and when it was written, perhaps a thousand years later, under quite different circumstances. But it does help us see through the fierce rhetoric of Deuteronomy, and see it partly as the embattled voice of a reformer trying to purify and preserve the people by clarifying who they are. The main focus is on ritual distinction: what we eat, what holidays we observe, what holy places we maintain. But in Israelite religion, as in the Judaism of today, eternal ethical and moral principles are carried on in the religious practice. Passover, of all holidays, reminds us of the importance of freedom and equality, and how much we owe to God. The tithing reminded the people that the land and the very processes of nature do not belong to us, but are only ours to utilize and benefit from as respectful caretakers of the land. So it makes sense that caring for the poor would be mentioned here too among the ritual practices that define who this people is supposed to be. As we approach the High Holy Days, it is interesting to consider what our practices are and what they reflect about what we hold dear. How much have we allowed all kinds of other concerns to distract us from establishing practical day to day routines that best reflect who we are as Jews and human beings? If we went about cleaning out our inner Temple, what kinds of things would be dumped as attractive but ultimately a big waste of time, or even a danger? We may feel pushed toward uneasy compromises to acquiesce to group norms of Jewish practice instead of just being involved in our personal eclectic spirituality. That conflict we feel in ourselves has been part of our people’s struggle for thousands of years. What does it “really” mean to be Jewish, and how do we make that a reality through practice? Re’eh provokes us to examine who we are and who we are meant to be. Rabbi Alexis Roberts ©August 2003