RE’E_DEUTRONOMY XI:26-XVI:17

One of the greatest scourges of our day is poverty. The United Nations designated a period of 20 years to alleviate the terrible consequences of social injustice and soon, in the middle of the established period, an international meeting will be held to evaluate the progress of this “war on poverty”. Our chapters refer to the obligation to assist the poor, and the needy.

How is the poor defined? According to the interpretation of the Talmud and the Midrash, poverty is relative, it is a function of previous well-being. When the majority has a roof of their own, those who do not have it can be described as poor. Under the heading of poverty is the person who previously had a horse and, for various reasons, lost this horse, while the individual who never had a horse is not necessarily considered a poor person.

Every third year of the Shemita period, which consisted of 7 years, there was the duty of tithing for the poor. The corners of the fields were also reserved so that the poor could participate in the harvest. What were the characteristics of the poor? Considered poor were those who did not have enough resources to satisfy hunger or to buy indispensable clothes for their family. This definition must be adapted to the circumstances, according to the changes that occur in society. 

Those who cannot access health care and education must be classified as “poor” today. Because of human weaknesses, there are those who wish to take advantage of the generosity of others and, in particular, of organizations that provide aid to those in need. It is worth asking whether the applicant’s degree of poverty can be investigated.

According to Rambam, when the person extends his hand because he is hungry, the honesty of the applicant should not be scrutinized: it is imperative to respond immediately to this request. On the other hand, when the apparent homeless person requests clothes, it can be investigated if the request really deserves an affirmative answer. The different response to these calls for help is since the person may starve one cannot wait for an examination of this situation, while clothing, with the exception of the case of intense cold, can be qualified as a necessity, not as a vital emergency.

Even as a child, the future Rebbe of Kotzk asked his teacher if our ancestors performed all the Mitzvot in the desert and, if the answer was yes, how they fulfilled the obligation to assist the needy when manna fell daily from heaven, and no one went hungry. The Rebbe’s incisive question during his childhood points to the fact that helping the poor also serves to sensitize the donor, because the practice of Tsedaka gives the donor a deeper and more human meaning to existence. 

To avoid abuse, the Chachamim warned that whoever falsely tried to take advantage of the generosity of others would not end their earthly days without falling into disgrace and without truly requiring the help of others. Jewish communities have traditionally and historically been characterized by their attention to the needs of the poor and the widow, the orphan and the young woman who required the means necessary to marry. In this way, the biblical instruction of the weekly text acquired validity that continues to this day.

MITZVAH: TORA ORDINANCE IN THIS PARSHA

CONTAINS 17 POSITIVE MITSVOT AND 38 PROHIBITIONS

1. Deuteronomy 12:2 Destroy idolatrous places of service
2. Deuteronomy 12:4 Do not erase sacred writings, write the Name of God, or destroy places of devotion that bear His Name
3. Deuteronomy 12:5-6 Bring all the voluntary offerings and offerings promised at the first pilgrimage festival that occurs after the promise is made
4. Deuteronomy 12:13 Do not sacrifice outside the Temple
5. Deuteronomy 12:13 Sacrifice all offerings in the Temple and not outside of it
6. Deuteronomy 12:15 Redeem consecrated animals for offerings that have been acquired
7. Deuteronomy 12:17 Do not eat the second tithe of grains outside Jerusalem
8. Deuteronomy 12:17 Do not consume the second tithe of wine outside of Jerusalem
9. Deuteronomy 12:17 Do not consume the second tithe of oil outside of Jerusalem
10. Deuteronomy 12:17 Do not consume an unblemished firstborn animal outside of Jerusalem
11. Deuteronomy 12:17 Not eating the flesh of a sin offering or guilt offering outside the Temple
12. Deuteronomy 12:17 Do not eat the flesh of a burnt offering
13. Deuteronomy 12:17Do not eat the flesh of a lower holiness offering before its blood is sprinkled on the Altar
14. Deuteronomy 12:17 The Kohanim are not to eat the first fruits before they are placed in the Temple Courtyard
15. Deuteronomy 12:19 Do not fail to give the Leviim their corresponding gifts, especially at the time of the holiday
16. Deuteronomy 12:21 Ro ritually sacrifice the animal before eating its flesh
17. Deuteronomy 12:23 Do not eat a member of a living animal
18. Deuteronomy 12:26 Bring the offering of an animal to be offered in the Temple, even from the diaspora
19. Deuteronomy 13:1 Do not add to the Mitsvot of the Tora
20. Deuteronomy 13:1 Do not subtract from any of the Mitsvot of the Tora
21. Deuteronomy 13:4 Do not listen to anyone who prophesies in the name of an idol
22. Deuteronomy 13:9 Not having affection for one who incites idolatrous worship
23. Deuteronomy 13:9 Do not diminish our hatred for those who incite idolatrous worship
24. Deuteronomy 13:10 Do not rescue from death those who incite idolatrous worship
25. Deuteronomy 13:9 – Whoever has been ill-influenced should not speak for those who incite idolatrous worship
26. Deuteronomy 13:9 – Who has been ill-influenced must not fail to criticize those who incite idolatrous worship
27. Deuteronomy 13:12 Do not incite a Jew to idolatrous worship
28. Deuteronomy 13:15 Thoroughly examine witnesses
29. Deuteronomy 13:17 Burn the city that has strayed and worships idols, along with all that it contains
30. Deuteronomy 13:17 Not to rebuild to its former condition the city that has strayed and worshipped idols
31. Deuteronomy 13:17 – Do not derive any benefit from the wealth of the city that has deviated and worshipped idols
32. Deuteronomy 14:1 Do not lacerate yourself as those who worship idols do
33. Deuteronomy 14:1 Do not uproot hair from the head out of sadness caused by a dead person
34. Deuteronomy 14:3 Do not eat the offerings of sacred animals that were disqualified
35. Deuteronomy 14:11 Examine the bird’s signs to see if it is kosher
36. Deuteronomy 14:19 Do not eat locusts that are not kosher or insects with wings
37. Deuteronomy 14:21 Do not eat the flesh of any domestic animal or wild animal that died on its own
38. Deuteronomy 14:22 The Second Tithe
39. Deuteronomy 14:28 Tithing for the Poor in the third year instead of the Second Tithe
40. Deuteronomy 15:2 Failure to demand payment for a debt over which the Sabbatical Passed
41. Deuteronomy 15:3 Collecting the full payment of a loan from a non-Jew
42. Deuteronomy 15:3 Forgiving debts in the Sabbath Year
43. Deuteronomy 15:7 Not to stop supporting a poor person and giving him what he needs
44. Deuteronomy 15:8 Giving charity
45. Deuteronomy 15:9 – Do not stop lending to the poor because the Sabbath Year will cancel the debt
46. Deuteronomy 15:13 Do not allow the Hebrew slave to go free empty-handed
47. Deuteronomy 15:13 Give a gift of indemnity to the Hebrew slave when he goes free
48. Deuteronomy 15:19 The animal that has been consecrated as an offering should not work
49. Deuteronomy 15:19 Do not shave the animal that has been consecrated as an offering
50. Deuteronomy 16:3 Do not eat Chamets after noon on the day before Passover
51. Deuteronomy 16:4 Do not leave flesh from the offering of the holiday, sacrificed on the 14th of Nisan until the third day 
52. Deuteronomy 16:5 Do not offer the Passover sacrifice on a private altar
53. Deuteronomy 16:14: Rejoice on the Pilgrimage Festivals 
54. Deuteronomy 16:16 Appear at the Beit HaMikdash, the Temple, at the Pilgrimage Festivals
55. Deuteronomy 16:16 Do not go up to Jerusalem and show up at the Beit HaMikdash for a Pilgrimage Festival without an animal offering