Tempering Craving Through Yirat Shamayim

 Parshat Re'eh

by Rabbi Avi Billet 

In verse 12:20, Moshe Rabbenu tells the people of one thing that will happen when they are in the land, enjoying prosperity, and when the land’s borders have expanded such that making a pilgrimage to the Midash is not a simple venture (whereas in the wilderness it was much easier to get to the Mishkan). “You will say ‘I will eat meat’ because your soul craves meat…” and then you are to go about preparing meat for yourself per the Torah’s allowance. 

 [Some vegans like to point to this verse as indicating that the Torah’s ideal is not to eat meat. There is an element of truth to the notion, as mankind originally was not permitted to eat meat until after the flood. But it is disingenuous to suggest that the Torah paints veganism as an ideal. Any sacrificial offering which was not completely burned was slated to be eaten (in part) by some people – whether the Kohanim or those bringing the offering. This leaves us with aiming at understanding what Moshe meant in telling us of desiring meat because of a craving.] 

Rashi notes that this verse is teaching us “derekh eretz,” that the only reason a person should desire meat is if one can afford it. There is no rhyme, reason, or allowance to have meat unless it works with one’s budget. Certainly in antiquity it meant that a person who had many animals and could therefore afford to have one slaughtered every now and then could have meat on occasion! [I learned in Mount Vernon how meat would be preserved in pre-freezer and refrigeration days]. 

Rashi also notes that regular meat was forbidden to the people in the wilderness, unless an animal was brought as a Korban Shelamim. This answers why lack of meat was a complaint for the people at times, and why they didn’t simply slaughter their animals for food. It also explains why Moshe is giving them a snapshot of how life will be a little different when they are in the land.

Kli Yakar (R Shlomo Efraim Luntshitz) adds the following critique of those who allow their desires to control them. “[the verse is] teaching that a person only seeks out one’s desires on account of significant expansion. As the Talmud in Brachos 32a says, ‘A lion roars over a basket of meat [from which he derives pleasure].’ The expansion of your borders will lead to the removal of the mask of shame leading one to [boldly] say ‘I will eat meat!’ This looks quite similar to the casting off of the yoke of heaven… The reason for this is because you’ll have become distanced from the place God will have chosen. Those who are closer to that place, who have the opportunity to go there, have greater ‘fear of the kingdom of heaven.’ Unfortunately, those who are further away are inevitably distanced from the Almighty, and therefore have desires, and no shame for wanting this, and no hesitation to declare ‘I want meat!’ So I am allowing the consumption of meat, but not at all times… only when you truly crave it.”

What is implied in this comment is that a certain amount of control is in order when it comes to meat-eating habits because the more one indulges in feeding this craving, the more one negatively impacts one’s fear of heaven. 

 It is not a farfetched stretch to expand such a thought towards the filling of any desires that expand beyond our most immediate needs. One look no farther than the most righteous people we imagine, whether from our generation or from recent generations, to see that their ways of living were often of the most meager kind, whether living in small apartments or modest homes, and of course of subsisting on far more minimal meals than the kinds we typically imagine. 

While their choices are not for everyone, certainly we can learn from their simplicity of a kind of ideal it is to focus on what are basic needs versus what is way beyond anything we need. This is far less a knock on having normal meals and more a critique of excess. 

Even when it comes to eating, one can simply do an Internet search for the “20 minute rule of eating” to learn that if we very reasonably fill (not overfill) our plate, slowly consume its contents, then wait 20 minutes before going back for a second helping, since it takes 20 minutes for the message to get from the stomach/gut to the brain that “we have what we need down here! No need for seconds!” one who doesn’t wait that long can easily overfill to the point of unintended excess! 

When it comes to other arenas of fulfilling desires, Rashi is reminding us that we must be careful not to go beyond our means. This certainly means we are to avoid keeping up with the Joneses, but even if we can, we are to avoid being the Joneses! Excess [if we use meat as a metaphor for it] is a craving that is to be caved in to on very irregular occasion. 

This goes back to the important statement shared with us by the prophet Micha (ch. 6) that a goal in life is to be הצנע לכת – to walk humbly with God. Walking humbly as a human being visavis God should be relatively easy. As we note in our prayers, and particularly in the coming High Holiday prayers, we know that we are nothing in comparison to God. Walking humbly as a human being visavis other humans is sometimes a little more of a challenge. We like our things. Sometimes we like showing people our things. We give tours of our homes to our guests. We talk about the wonderful trips we’ve been on.

All of which simply suggests that there is a delicate balancing act between enjoying God’s world and displaying our accomplishments for all to know about. And of course, it is always worth noting that those who are blessed by God with more are privileged to be able to fulfill tzedakah-oriented Mitzvos which have an incredible benefit of increasing one’s Yirat Shamayim. 

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch was once going on a vacation to Switzerland. When asked why he was going he remarked, “When it is time for me to face the Almighty, I want to be able to answer in the affirmative when He asks me, ‘Samson, did you see My Alps?’”

Let us enjoy God’s world that He made for us to enjoy. But let us always temper our enjoyment with humility and with limiting excess. As a combination it demonstrates having an appreciation for the role God has always played in this world, and it reminds us of the awe we are to have of Him, while exhibiting tremendous appreciation of the role He has always had and continues to have, in our ability to afford and enjoy the wonderful side of living while tempering all of our activities and purchases through the lens of Yirat Shamayim, proper reverence of heaven, and the vibe we give off to those who may be looking to us as exemplars of living a Godly existence.