Parshas Re’eh: What Sets Israel Apart
Isn’t it interesting how we fear those who are different? Think back to primary school – who was the kid who got picked on the most? It was not the most “average” kid. It was the person who stood out the most. Perhaps it was the only obese child in the class. Maybe it was the one who was poorest, with shirts showing holes at the elbows, and no lunch money. Maybe it was the girl who was too tall or the boy who was too short.
As we grow up, not much changes. Xenophobia (fear of immigrants) is alive and well in many places. If someone shows up who does not look like us, think like us, or act like us, we immediately become suspicious. It is harder for them to fit in. And this actually makes a lot of sense because historically, someone who was “different” often was a threat. A drunk Russian soldier in the synagogue spelled trouble for the Jews, just as a sly Frenchman was not trusted in the medieval British court.
So it should come as no surprise that Israel has many detractors in the world today. Israel is different from all the other countries in the Middle East. The Middle East is made up of 16 countries, 15 of which are Muslim. Israel is the only country in the Mideast that is not under Arabic rule and which features true democracy. Israel is the only country in the Middle East where Muslims, Christians, and even Jews can live freely without fears of constant persecution.
This freedom is not just because Israel boasts of the only democracy in the region. It is because Israel is a Jewish state. And as Jews, freedom is part of our spiritual makeup.
In this week’s parsha, G-d says to us: “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil … I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.” Yet, surely G-d has the power to force us to do good. He could make it so that any punishment for any sin would come immediately. If we Jews knew that if we ate non-kosher food we would G-d forbid die right away, we would all certainly be keeping kosher!
However, this is not what G-d did. G-d laid out for us a choice: we can choose to do good or we can choose to do evil. We can choose to do one or the other… or a little bit of both. We have freedom.
That freedom, more than anything else, is what sets Israel apart from all other nations in the Middle East. A woman in Saudi Arabia cannot choose to wear what she wants. A man in Gaza cannot choose to speak publicly in support of Israel. To do either of these things will bring about swift reprisals from the ruling factions. But in Israel a woman can wear what she chooses, even if it’s not really the right, Torah, thing to do. In Israel a man can speak out in support of giving away the land of Israel to Palestinians even if what they say may go against the Torah. In Israel there is freedom to choose what and who you want to be. And that, ultimately, is what sets Israel apart.
Shabbat shalom!
Read more on Parshas Re’eh: The Power of Choice
Read more on Parshas Re’eh: Not Everything in Life is 50 Shades of Grey
Read more on Parshas Re’eh: Is Turkey a Kosher Bird?
