Re’eh 5784: Kashrut and Spiritual Clarity
Re’eh details laws for the land of Israel, including laws of sacrifices, kashrut, and shmita. The Pardes Parsha podcast discusses how the discrepancy between the Leviticus and Deuteronomy lists of kosher birds can influence our spiritual understanding of our relationships.
How do our perceptions, whether clear or confused, impact our understanding of Torah and our relationships?
In this episode, Zvi Hirschfield and Rabbi Brent Chaim Spodek explore Parshat Re'eh, focusing on the intriguing and often perplexing laws of kashrut. They delve into the deeper meanings behind these dietary laws, particularly the curious differences between similar verses in the different Parshiot. Drawing on teachings from the Maggid of Mesritch and Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, they discuss how our perceptions—whether clear or confused—affect our spiritual understanding and relationships with others. They challenge us to reflect on their own views and to strive for a more compassionate and discerning outlook on themselves and the world.
These key texts help deepen your listening experience:
Torah Portion: Devarim 11:26-16:17
SOURCES

(יב) וְזֶ֕ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־תֹאכְל֖וּ מֵהֶ֑ם הַנֶּ֥שֶׁר וְהַפֶּ֖רֶס וְהָֽעׇזְנִיָּֽה׃ (יג) וְהָרָאָה֙ וְאֶת־הָ֣אַיָּ֔ה וְהַדַּיָּ֖ה לְמִינָֽהּ׃ (יד) וְאֵ֥ת כׇּל־עֹרֵ֖ב לְמִינֽוֹ׃ (טו) וְאֵת֙ בַּ֣ת הַֽיַּעֲנָ֔ה וְאֶת־הַתַּחְמָ֖ס וְאֶת־הַשָּׁ֑חַף וְאֶת־הַנֵּ֖ץ לְמִינֵֽהוּ׃ (טז) אֶת־הַכּ֥וֹס וְאֶת־הַיַּנְשׁ֖וּף וְהַתִּנְשָֽׁמֶת׃ (יז) וְהַקָּאָ֥ת וְאֶֽת־הָרָחָ֖מָה וְאֶת־הַשָּׁלָֽךְ׃ (יח) וְהַ֣חֲסִידָ֔ה וְהָאֲנָפָ֖ה לְמִינָ֑הּ וְהַדּוּכִיפַ֖ת וְהָעֲטַלֵּֽף׃ (יט) וְכֹל֙ שֶׁ֣רֶץ הָע֔וֹף טָמֵ֥א ה֖וּא לָכֶ֑ם לֹ֖א יֵאָכֵֽלוּ׃

(12) The following you may not eat: the eagle, the vulture, and the black vulture; (13) the kite, the falcon, and the buzzard of any variety; (14) every variety of raven; (15) the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, and the hawk of any variety; (16) the little owl, the great owl, and the white owl; (17) the pelican, the bustard, and the cormorant; (18) the stork, any variety of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat. (19) All winged swarming things are impure for you: they may not be eaten.

(יג) וְאֶת־אֵ֙לֶּה֙ תְּשַׁקְּצ֣וּ מִן־הָע֔וֹף לֹ֥א יֵאָכְל֖וּ שֶׁ֣קֶץ הֵ֑ם אֶת־הַנֶּ֙שֶׁר֙ וְאֶת־הַפֶּ֔רֶס וְאֵ֖ת הָעׇזְנִיָּֽה׃ (יד) וְאֶ֨ת־הַדָּאָ֔ה וְאֶת־הָאַיָּ֖ה לְמִינָֽהּ׃ (טו) אֵ֥ת כׇּל־עֹרֵ֖ב לְמִינֽוֹ׃ (טז) וְאֵת֙ בַּ֣ת הַֽיַּעֲנָ֔ה וְאֶת־הַתַּחְמָ֖ס וְאֶת־הַשָּׁ֑חַף וְאֶת־הַנֵּ֖ץ לְמִינֵֽהוּ׃ (יז) וְאֶת־הַכּ֥וֹס וְאֶת־הַשָּׁלָ֖ךְ וְאֶת־הַיַּנְשֽׁוּף׃ (יח) וְאֶת־הַתִּנְשֶׁ֥מֶת וְאֶת־הַקָּאָ֖ת וְאֶת־הָרָחָֽם׃ (יט) וְאֵת֙ הַחֲסִידָ֔ה הָאֲנָפָ֖ה לְמִינָ֑הּ וְאֶת־הַדּוּכִיפַ֖ת וְאֶת־הָעֲטַלֵּֽף׃ (כ) כֹּ֚ל שֶׁ֣רֶץ הָע֔וֹף הַהֹלֵ֖ךְ עַל־אַרְבַּ֑ע שֶׁ֥קֶץ ה֖וּא לָכֶֽם׃

(13) The following you shall abominate among the birds—they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, and the black vulture; (14) the kite, falcons of every variety; (15) all varieties of raven; (16) the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull; hawks of every variety; (17) the little owl, the cormorant, and the great owl; (18) the white owl, the pelican, and the bustard; (19) the stork; herons of every variety; the hoopoe, and the bat. (20) All winged swarming things that walk on fours shall be an abomination for you.

Where He offered the Torah: The Edomites and Ishmaelites are the archetypal cultures of non-Jewish civilization; thus, in offering the Torah to these two peoples, God was in effect offering it to all the non-Jewish nations of the world, present and future. Whatever form this procedure actually took, its essence was that God examined the intrinsic nature of every nation and found none of them innately suited to accept the Torah and fulfill its instructions except the Jewish people.
The fundamental reason why God offered the Torah to the nations of the world was in order to prevent them from ever contesting the apparent favoritism He displays toward the Jewish people: they can no longer argue that had God offered them the Torah, they too would have accepted it as readily and as unconditionally as did the Jews.
The positive effect of offering the Torah to the non-Jewish nations was that doing so rendered them receptive to later accepting upon themselves the obligation to observe the Noahide laws, i.e., the seven categories of commandments that are incumbent upon all non-Jews. In order to properly accept this legal code, the non-Jew must acknowledge that God gave it to humanity as part of the Torah that He gave at Mount Sinai. Furthermore, in the messianic future, the non-Jewish nations will be refined and no longer intrinsically oppose the lifestyle and world-vision of the Torah. Their future acceptance of the Torah’s world-vision will make them active participants in the final Redemption.

ראה ודאה הכל א' ובגמ' עומדת בבבל ורואה נבילה בא"י דצדיק נק' אספקלריא שכל אדם שרואה בו רואה א"ע כמו במראה ולכן אמרו במשה שחשדוהו בא"א בפסוק והביטו אחרי משה דבאמת שכל צדיק יש לו כללות מכל העולם ומכל בני האדם וכ"א החלק שלו רואה בצדיק ולכך חשדוהו בא"א שהם באמת היו נואפים ערב רב וראו חלקם בצדיק וחשדוהו ובאמת חלקם הוא הרע בטל במציאות אצלו נגד הטוב שבו זהו ראה נבילה דבר נבל בארציות של ישראל וזהו מפני שהוא עצמו עומד בבבל לשון בלבול:

והראה, אמרו חכמינו ז"ל (חולין דס"ג ע"ב) ולמה נקרא שמה ראה שרואה ביותר כו' תנא עומדת בבבל ורואה נבלה בארץ ישראל, שמעתי [בשם ר"י בעש"ט ע"ה זצוק"ל] פירוש הגמרא עומדת בבבל ורואה נבלה בארץ ישראל, פירוש, אדם שאינו הגון נקרא בבל כי עומדים בשטותים והבלי עולם, ואדם הצדיק נקרא ארץ ישראל, וזהו פירוש הגמרא עומדת בבבל פירוש בשטותים, ורואה על אדם כשר נבלה, והיינו נבלה בארץ ישראל באדם כשר והבן:
(אור האמת דק"ז ע"ב).

Of these you shall not eat…the buzzard (ra’ah). (Ibid. 14:13)
Why is it called the ra’ah? Because it sees (ro’eh) very far. It is taught, she stands in Babylon and sees a carcass in the Land of Israel.
An unrefined person is called Babylon, for he stands amidst the foolishness and vanities of the world. A Tzaddik is called the “Land of Israel.” The one who stands in Babylon – in foolishness – looks at the Land of Israel – upon the upright man – as though he were a carcass. Understand this!
Ohr Ha’Emes, p. 107b

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