See, I give you today a blessing and a curse (Deuteronomy 11:26)
Freedom of choice has been granted to every man: if he desires to turn toward a good path and be righteous, the ability to do so is in his hands; and if he desires to turn toward an evil path and be wicked, the ability to do so is in his hands . . .
This concept is a fundamental principle and a pillar of the Torah and its commandments. As it is written [Deuteronomy 30:15]: “See, I have set before you life [and good, and death and evil]” and “See, I set before you today [a blessing and a curse].” . . . For were G-d to decree that a person be righteous or wicked, or if there were to exist something in the very essence of a person’s nature which would compel him toward a specific path, a specific conviction, a specific character trait or a specific deed . . . how could G-d command us through the prophets, “Do this” and “do not do this” . . . ? What place would the entire Torah have? And by what measure of justice would G-d punish the wicked and reward the righteous?
- (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance 5:1–3)
See, I give you today a blessing and a curse (11:26)
See, I give you today the blessing and its transmutation.
— (Yonatan ben Uziel’s [Aramaic] translation of the verse)
“See”—Moses is giving the children of Israel the power of sight—to perceive that the true nature of evil is nothing more than a transmutation and distortion of the divine good. When evil is thus seen, it can be transformed into the good that it essentially is.
— (The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
You shall not do so to the L-rd your G-d (12:4)
—to offer sacrifices to G-d in any place you choose (as the nations did to their gods), but rather “at the place that He will choose.”
Another interpretation is: “You shall tear down their altars . . . and destroy their names . . . [but] do not do so [to the L-rd your G-d]”—this is a prohibition to erase the Name of G-d [from any writing]
— (Talmud, Makkot 22a)
— (Mishneh Torah, Laws of the Holy Temple 2:1–2)
{NOTE: It would be in a specific geographic location. A single place. But working backwards, the earth of this place – is it meaningful the location that it comes from? Is not all the earth of this place G-d’s earth? So the places where they built altars could be different physical locations, all pointing to the same spiritual “location” – Ha’Shem.}
{NOTE: Now there is the discussion of Kashrut, as regards meat. One could say that if there was no meat or fish eaten, then all food would be kosher. Thus it brings me to the realisation that the only food that is forbidden is food that is obtained from the flesh of a once-living being – that you have killed, (or that has been killed for you to consume), even if it is done by process ofsechita. Therefore, one could say, that one of the ways to herald in the Messianic era is to stop eating meat.
It is permissable to eat meat on special occasions – those in which you dedicate the meat in service to the Divine Will. This is due to the command to eat the meat at the temple, and not in the towns. We know there is some leniency, because this was only applicable in the land of Israel at the time of the temple. Otherwise, if you are too far from the temple, or there is none, it is permissable to eat the meat in one’s home. It also permissable to eat meat if it is a matter of life and death as well – as the ultimate expression of one’s lack of faith is to die unnecessarily or by your own hand.
Being a vegetarian, none of these laws of kashrut apply to my home. The only way the unkosher can enter is through someone else tainting the food that I eat. If someone wants to know that laws of kashrut, that is fairly simple to explain. But, I would advise to stop eating meat as the simplist way to cleanse one’s home of the dense energy of meat and death.
}
Love the Lord, your G-d, with all your heart and with all your soul. (13.5)
- Follow the Lord
- Revere Him
- Keep His Commandments
- Listen to His voice
- Worship Him
- Stay close to Him
For you are a holy people to the L-rd your G-d
G-d gives physical form to the spiritual; the Jew makes spiritual the physical.
— (Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov)
These are the animals which you may eat . . . (14:4)
The birds and many of the mammals forbidden by the Torah are predators, while the permitted animals are not. We are commanded not to eat those animals possessive of a cruel nature, so that we should not absorb these qualities into ourselves.
— (Nachmanides)
The great Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria taught that every created thing possesses a “spark” of divine energy that constitutes its essence and soul. When a person utilizes something toward a G-dly end, he brings to light this divine spark, manifesting and realizing the purpose for which it was created.
In all physical substances, a material “husk” (kelipah) encases and conceals the divine spark at its core, necessitating great effort on the part of man to access the spark without becoming enmeshed in the surface materiality.
No existence is devoid of a divine spark—indeed, nothing can exist without the pinpoint of G-dliness that imbues it with being and purpose. But not every spark can be actualized. There are certain “impregnable” elements whose sparks are inaccessible to us. The fact that something is forbidden by the Torah means that its “husk” cannot be penetrated, so that its spark remains locked within it and cannot be elevated.
Thus, one who eats a piece of kosher meat and then uses the energy gained from it to perform a mitzvah thereby elevates the spark of divinity that is the essence of the meat, freeing it of its mundane incarnation and raising it to a state of fulfilled spirituality. However, if one would do the same with a piece of non-kosher meat, no such “elevation” would take place. Even if he applied the energy to positive and G-dly ends, this would not constitute a realization of the divine purpose in the meat’s creation, since the consumption of the meat was an express violation of the divine will.
This is the deeper significance of the Hebrew terms assur and mutar employed by Torah law for the forbidden and the permissible. Assur, commonly translated as “forbidden,” literally means “bound,” implying that these are things whose sparks the Torah has deemed bound and imprisoned in a shell of negativity and proscription. Mutar (“permitted”), which literally means “unbound,” is the term for those sparks which the Torah has empowered us to extricate from their mundane embodiment and actively involve in our positive endeavours.
The poor of your city take precedence over the poor of a different city.
The “bound” elements of creation also have a role in the realization of the divine purpose outlined by the Torah. But theirs is a “negative” role—they exist so that we should achieve a conquest of self by resisting them. There is no Torah-authorized way in which they can actively be involved in our development of creation, no way in which they may themselves become part of the “dwelling for G-d” that we are charged to make of our world. Of these elements it is said, “Their breaking is their rectification.” They exist to be rejected and defeated, and it is in their defeat and exclusion from our lives that their raison d’être is realized.
— (The Chassidic Masters)
{NOTE: Much too meat orientated. If I eat/consume anything – not just meat then it should be a process of transmutation.}
---רק אמ שׁמוע תשׁוע בקול יהוה אלֹהיך לשׁמר לעשׂות את־כל־המצווה הזאת אשׁר אשׁכי מצוךָ היוםKeep the commands with which I am charging you this day (15:6).
If there will be among you a needy person, from one of your brothers in one of your cities . . . (15:7)
The poor of your city take precedence over the poor of a different city.
— (Rashi)
Open, open your hand to him . . . (15:8)
There are eight levels of charity, each greater than the next.
[1] The greatest level, above which there is no greater, is to support a fellow Jew by endowing him with a gift or loan, or entering into a partnership with him, or finding employment for him, in order to strengthen his hand until he need no longer be dependent upon others . . .
[2] A lesser level of charity than this is to give to the poor without knowing to whom one gives, and without the recipient knowing from who he received. For this is performing a mitzvah solely for the sake of heaven. This is like the “anonymous fund” that was in the Holy Temple [in Jerusalem]. There the righteous gave in secret, and the good poor profited in secret. Giving to a charity fund is similar to this mode of charity, though one should not contribute to a charity fund unless one knows that the person appointed over the fund is trustworthy and wise and a proper administrator, like Rabbi Hananya ben Teradyon.
[3] A lesser level of charity than this is when one knows to whom one gives, but the recipient does not know his benefactor. The greatest sages used to walk about in secret and put coins in the doors of the poor. It is worthy and truly good to do this if those who are responsible for distributing charity are not trustworthy.
[4] A lesser level of charity than this is when one does not know to whom one gives, but the poor person does know his benefactor. The greatest sages used to tie coins into their robes and throw them behind their backs, and the poor would come up and pick the coins out of their robes so that they would not be ashamed.
[5] A lesser level than this is when one gives to the poor person directly into his hand, but gives before being asked.
[6] A lesser level than this is when one gives to the poor person after being asked.
[7] A lesser level than this is when one gives inadequately, but gives gladly and with a smile.
[8] A lesser level than this is when one gives unwillingly.
— (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Gifts to the Poor 10:7–14)
Eat them in the presence of the Lord in the place that the Lord shall show you — פסח (15:21)
Both the impure and the pure shall eat... (15:22)
But you shall not eat of the blood, but you shall pour it into the ground (15:23)
Chapter 16
Passover (16:8)
- The Passover sacrifice takes place in the evening (16:8)
- Return the next day
- 6 days shall you eat unleavened bread
- On the 7th day you shall do no work, and the community shall assemble
Festivals
- 7 weeks to the produce festival, ִשׁבועות, Shavuot, which, although called the Festival of Weeks, lasts one one day
- 7 days of celebration, סוכות, Succoth.
- 7 days of eating unleavened bread, חג המצות, the Holiday of Unleavened Bread, Passover.
ויהוה עקר תשׁמעוּן את המשׁפטים האלה ותשׁמרוּ ותעשׂוּ אתם שׁמור יהוה אלוהיך לך את־הברית ואת־החסד אשׁר נשׁבע לאבותךָIf indeed you heed these laws and guard/keep them (holy) and do them (act on/from them), HaShem, your G-d, will keep/honour the oath/covenant and the mercy/love that he swore to/forged with your father's ancestors.
אשׁר נשׁבא לאבותךָ (לתת לךָ)You will be loved and blessed, you will multiply. The fruit of your womb, and the fruit hof your land... will be blessed.