It is a stark choice at the beginning of the sidra. We can have blessings and we can have curses - the choice is in our hands. The blessing is "if you hearken to the

What kind of blessing?

commandments of the Lord your God which I command you this day." (Deuteronomy 11:27) The obvious way of understanding this verse is like this: opt for blessing, hearken to God, have blessing. What kind of blessing? Corn, wine and oil. Prosperity, satiety, security. Joy, peace, serenity.


An alternative interpretation goes like this: there will be blessing "if you hearken," i.e., the blessing is that you hearken. The greatest blessing is not material but spiritual, not earthly but ethereal. You are blessed by knowing there is a God, blessed by knowing you are in His presence, blessed by hearing His call and responding to His voice. The blessings that come from this world are not nearly as great as those which link Earth to Heaven.


The way to those blessings is spelled out in the portion: "Choose!" All very well, but can one consciously choose to believe? Intellectually, one can place the arguments for belief in one column and the arguments for non-belief in another. It is possible that one will be more convinced by the first column, but also possible that the second column will prevail. And even if one says, "Logic tells me to believe," is there a guarantee that real belief will follow?


The approach of the verse that says, "Hearken," is quite different. It says, "Look at the majesty of Creation, at the grandeur of the human spirit, at the magnificence of the Creator. Hear the wind in the trees, the rustle of the leaves, the still small voice of conscience and morality. How can your eyes not see and your ears not hear? How can you perceive reality and not believe?"


Foods, Fads, Fanatics
Jews have so many simplistic definitions of religiosity: "I go to a religious synagogue" (are there any others?); "I don't go synagogue, but I keep the Ten Commandments" (if only!); "I'm not so religious - I don't keep a kosher home", etc.


This Shabbat, when the dietary laws figure in the Torah reading, let's focus on the third category: "I'm not so religious - I don't keep a kosher home."


Observing kashrut actually is, in many ways, a test of religiosity. What it says is, "I bring religious principle into the most everyday moments of my life." It was a great Christian cleric who says, "God is interested in a lot of other things apart from religion." What he meant was probably that God's concern is not limited to religious days and religious places. Judaism knew this from its inception, when it said, "In all your ways, know Him" - "b'chol d'rachecha da'ehu." (Proverbs 3:6) Not only in the synagogue, not only through

Jews have so many simplistic definitions of religiosity.

the prayer book, but wherever you are and whatever you do - all is part of religion.


Kashrut is religious in another sense, too. When you control what you eat and how you eat, you are showing self-discipline - also a mark of religiosity. When you choose to be kosher and the meat you consume has been made available by sh'chitah, that's kindness to animals - another indication of religion. When you have a kosher home and show consideration for your fellow Jew who is particular about kashrut, that's "love your neighbour as yourself" - once again, religion.


Keeping kosher is certainly a religious practice, but even the supposed non-religious are not debarred from having kosher homes. The sidra says, "You are a people hallowed to the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 14:22) Even the non-religious are allowed to be hallowed.