ki teitzei: food and water for all
sholem aleichem,
dvar machine broken, please stand by while we execute a hard reboot of our essential systems.
in the meantime, enjoy this message from one of our sponsors:
הוי כל־צמא לכו למים ואשר אין־לו כסף לכו שברו ואכלו ולכו שברו בלוא־כסף ובלוא מחיר יין וחלב
Hoy! All who thirst, come for water!
Those with no money? Come, buy, eat.
Buy without money,
no cost for wine and milk.
what is the meaning of הוי/hoy?
the gematria is the same as אהיה -- i-am-that-i-am. rebbe nachman says that the meaning of אהיה is "i am prepared to be" and this process of preparation is teshuvah.
as we prepare for rosh hashanah, understand this: that [one of] the goal[s] of teshuvah is a world where all who hunger and thirst can eat and drink freely.
what is the meaning of שברו בלוא-כסף/buy without money?
the gematria of בלוא-כסף is the same as צדקה. as hashem says:
should I hide from Avraham what I will do [regarding Sodom].....for I know him, that he will command his children and his house after him to guard the way of haShem: to do justice/צדקה
the basic requirement of justice: food and water to all.
may we be like avraham, and hold this obligation so close that even hashem questions hashem's own actions....
good shabbos,
ada
p.s. we need much more than just daily food
p.p.s. the rabbis interpret our verse from Isaiah as referring to Torah, not water. very cute of them, though I think we shouldn't forget to literally provide water to thirsty people. Nonetheless, we also need to make Torah accessible to all.....