A Thought on Parshas Re'eh

"...l'ma'an tilmad l'yira es HaShem Elokecha..." "...in order that you will learn to fear your Lord G-d..." (14:23) The Torah instructs us to ascend to Jerusalem with our ma'aser sheni tithe, and to enjoy eating in the Holy City. Our verse then closes with the proviso or addition that this will enable us to learn to fear HaShem. How so? How does a festive repast in Jerusalem teach us this essential spiritual principle? The Bechor Shor creates an enticing image for us. He writes: "when you ascend during the festival to eat your tithes and when you will see the Kohanim in their services and the Levites in their singing and their music and the Sanhedrin in session judging with integrity and ruling instructively - for it is from their place that Torah instruction goes forth to all of Yisrael - you will learn to fear HaShem" A visit to Jerusalem, including a festive one, involves more than food and celebration. One can hardly enter that Holy City without being touched by the numinous aura which reaches far beyond the material delights which it offers. The beauty of the city is known even to us, who have not yet merited to experience it in it's longed-for splendor as it will soon be rebuilt! We love its ancient stones, its walls and archways, its pathways and its aesthetics. We find inspiration there, which we try to channel towards better conduct in our dealings with Above as well as in our dealings with other people. But how does one learn to go beyond this, and to learn yiras HaShem? The Bechor Shor spells this out for us. Fear and reverence for the Above is more than inspiration. It is more than the spiritual high of being enveloped by the material Yerushalayim shel Matta. Fear of HaShem is learned through seeing people who fear HaShem! This involves more than a sensory excitation. It involves an understanding that there are people who fully devote themselves to serving Him. This is real and it is doable. Thus, observing the Temple ritual and the droves of Kohaim engaged in each facet of dedicated service teaches us something real. Hearing the Leviim chant with orchestrated accompaniment makes it real and vivid. Watching the precision with which Torah is taught and applied by the learned elders of the Sanhedrin takes us well beyond the senses and the theoretical, as we witness Torah coming alive in the form of implemented halachic rulings. When I ascend to Jerusalem, I drink in the kedusha of the places - the places of sacred prayer and the shrines of Torah immersion. But for me, the real edification comes from being part of the Batei Din - as close as one can feel to the Holy Sanhedrin atop the Temple Mount of yore, watching Torah take viable form in order to lead and guide those who seek the word of HaShem. Ki mi'Tzion taetzae Torah u'dvar HaShem mi'Yerushalayim Good Shabbos. Chodesh Elul Tov. D Fox