MicrobrewTorah
Re'eh, Deuteronomy 11:26-16:16
Centralizing
the Cult
15
August 2009
In Re'eh, Moses instructs the Children of Israel to
centralize the Cult in “the place that the Adonai your God
will choose.” We hear this phrase at least 15 times.
The Children of Israel are instructed:
1. To destroy the sacred places of Canaanite worship;
2. Not to worship as the Canaanites;
3. To establish an exclusive site for sacrifice;
4. That families are to go to this central shrine for
sacrifices;
5. That people may convert their livestock into money, go
to the central shrine, and there purchase animals to
sacrifice, food and provisions; and
6. That the people may eat meat at any time, rather than
only at sacrifice.
The command to centralize the Cult had far reaching effects
on the religion, economy, and politics of the Kingdom of
Judah.
Dr. Beth Alpert Nakhai, of the University of Arizona at
Tucson, edited Re’eh for
The Torah: A Woman’s Commentary. She writes:
“Creating sacrifices only in Jerusalem would have been a
boon for that city’s economy, strengthening the crown as it
faced Assyrian imperialism, especially in the 7th century
B.C.E.”
In
The Torah: A Modern Commentary, Rabbis Dudley Weinberg
and W. Gunther Plaut theorize that the core of the Book of
Deuteronomy was written during the reign of King Hezekiah,
who ruled in Judah from 725 to 687 B.C.E.
King Hezekiah outlawed idolatry and pagan shrines. He
attempted to centralize religious activity in the Temple at
Jerusalem. See 2 Kings 18; 2 Chronicles 29 30 and 31.
After Hezekiah died, the people of Judah returned to
idolatry and the core of the Book of Deuteronomy was lost.
In 621 B.C.E., King Josiah instituted radical reforms. The
idols were smashed. The local shrines were overthrown.
Sacrifice was centralized in the Temple in Jerusalem.
Passover was celebrated for the first time as a pilgrim
festival in Jerusalem rather than a family celebration at
home.
While the Temple was being refurbished, a Book of Teaching
was discovered. See 2 Kings 22 and 23 and 2 Chronicles 34
and 35.
The reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah are so similar to the
commands of Deuteronomy, that Rabbis Weinberg and Plaut
believe that the core of Deuteronomy was written during the
time of King Hezekiah and discovered during the time of
King Josiah.
I believe that the centralization of the Cult in Jerusalem
had the following impacts:
1. It created a banking and market system. Livestock was
sold and converted to money. The pilgrims with their
families would travel to Jerusalem where they would camp
out or rent rooms, purchase provisions, and purchase
animals for sacrifice.
2. The influx of pilgrims would enrich the Temple treasury.
The King could use this money to build the army. A stronger
army would deter Assyrian aggression.
3. Increased use of the Temple, would require capital
improvements. Public works increases employment and puts
more money in circulation.
4. The nation would be unified. The local shrines and the
local priests would be put out of business. Opportunities
for idolatry would be reduced. All religious power was
concentrated in the Aaronite priests in Jerusalem.
5. Livestock would be raised and sold for eating on as
everyday food.
Rabbi Lewis M. Barth of Hebrew Union College-Jewish
Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, sees a theological
aspect of the centralization of the Cult.
Rabbi Barth says Adonai had to be changed from a desert God
to the God in Jerusalem.
Rabbi Barth explains that Adonai had been established as
the desert God through theophany--revelation, as at the
Burning Bush.
Before the Cult could be centralized in Jerusalem, the
people’s memory of Jerusalem---as a pagan city with pagan
gods--had to be changed.
Instead of theophany, the authors of Deuteronomy repeatedly
used the phrase “the place that Adonai your God will
choose”, and the commands for pilgrimage and sacrifice, to
ensure that people would accept Jerusalem as their single
sacred site.
Eikev
Pinchas
P'dukei
Shoftim
Miketz
Bechukotai
Terumah
Tazriah-Metzora
Lech Lecha
Va-era
Re-eh
RH2
Vayeira
