Synopsis of 

RE’EH, FOURTH READING

Moses instructs the Jewish people regarding how they must distinguish themselves from other peoples in order to remain true to their Divine mission. These instructions included the laws regarding bodily mutilation and the laws of permitted vs. forbidden types of food.

 

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G-d’s Only Child

“You are the children of G-d.”

(Re’eh 14:1)

 

In the words of Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Chasidism, “Every Jew is as precious to G-d as an only son born to his parents in their old age is to them–and in fact, even more precious.”

 

G-d created the world for the sake of the Jewish people–meaning not only for the sake of the Jewish people as a whole but for the sake of each individual Jew.

 

Therefore, we should all live our lives as if the entire world were created for each of us individually, and awaits our unique contribution to its destiny.