Perashat R'eh has 17 positive commandments and 38 negative commandments, for a total of 55 Missvot. Next week’s Perashah, Perashat Shof'tim has a total of 41 Missvot. And the following Perashah, Perashat Ki Tesse, has the most Mitzvot of any Perashah in the Torah with 74 Missvot. So there are a total of 170 Missvot in these three Perashiyot. If you take a closer look at what’s been going on since Perashat VaEt-hannan, you will find that Moshe Rabenu is teaching about the Missvot based on the order of the Ten Commandments. Meaning all of these Missvot fall under the category of one of the commandments. So if you look back in Perashat VaEt-hannan, you will find the Missvah of believing that Hashem is one, of loving Hashem and of declaring your belief that HaShem is one every morning and evening. All of these Missvot fall under the category of אנכי, the first commandment which is belief in HaShem. In 'Eqeb, there’s the prohibition of benefiting from objects of idolatry and a prohibition of benefiting from an offering that was made to an idol, which falls under the category of לא יהיה, the second commandment, which prohibits belief in false gods . In R'eh, we begin with the Missvah of destroying objects used for idolatry, which is still part of the prohibition of belief in false gods. And then there's the prohibition of offering sacrifices outside of the Bet HaMiqdash and the Missvah of offering sacrifices in the Bet HaMiqdash. This is an expansion of the third commandment which is the prohibition of taking HaShem's name in vain. Meaning just like we show reverence to Hashem by not using His name casually, we show reverence to Him by offering sacrifices in an exclusive designated holy place known as the Bet HaMiqdash. Towards the end of the Perashah we read about Shemittah and the holidays that are under the Shabbat category (the fourth commandment). In Perashat Shof'tim we are taught about the judges, the king and the prophets all of whom are figures of authority in society, and respect for them is under the umbrella of כבד את אביך ואת אמך, honoring ones parents (the fifth commandment). There is also the Missvah of 'Eglah 'Arufah, which deals with an unsolved murder and is under the category of לא תרצח, the prohibition of murder (the sixth commandment). In Ki Tesse, there is the prohibition of a worker taking more fruit than what he eats in the field and the prohibition and eating while he is working, which is a detail of לא תגנוב, the prohibition of stealing (the eighth commandment). There’s also the prohibition of possessing dishonest weights and measures which is also under the category of the prohibition of stealing. Then there’s the Missvah of marriage, the prohibition of relations outside of marriage and other laws concerning relationships between men and women that come under the category of לא תנאף, the prohibition of adultery (the seventh commandment). Ki Tesse also has the prohibition of relatives testifying against each other which is under the category of לא תענה, the prohibition of bearing false witness (the ninth commandment). But what about לא תחמוד, the prohibition of jealousy? While it's not so clear what comes under the category of לא תחמןד, I would like to suggest that the laws of kashrut that are found in this week's Perashah are in that category. How does that fit? One aspect of לא תחמוד is לא תתאוה, not to desire other people's possessions. Overindulgence in food is a manifestation of being too immersed in desire. The Torah is commanding us to elevate ourselves and focus primarily on spiritual matters. HaRambam explained that the reason that many foods are are forbidden and only some are permitted is to condition us not be overly focused on physical enjoyment, and in this specific case, overly focused on physical enjoyment through eating. So the main category of לא תתאוה is regarding desiring someone else's possessions, but included in that category is a personal desire for eating and drinking as well. By limiting what is permitted, we condition ourselves to have self-control when it comes to eating and drinking. Now this structure of the Missvot and their relationship to the ten commandments have linguistic hints in the text as well. In this week's Perashah, the prohibition of scraping one's skin when mourning for the deceased is introduced with the phrase בנים אתם לה' אלקיכם "You are sons to HaShem" This appears to allude to כבד את אביך ואת אמך, honoring your parents. As children of Hashem we must conduct ourselves with dignity so we are not allowed to desecrate our bodies. And later on in the Perashah we find an even more specific allusion when the Torah discusses the holiday of Pesah. As mentioned earlier the holidays are under the Shabbat category and interestingly the passage in our Perashah states ששת ימים תאכל מצות וביום השביעי עצרת לה' אלקיך לא תעשה מלאכה "Eat Massot for SIX days and on the seventh day a cessation (of work) for HaShem your Lord, do not perform any work" This verse should have really said to eat Massot for seven days like it says at the beginning of this passage about Pesah שבעת ימים תאכל עליו מצות לחם עני "For seven days eat Massot, the bread of affliction upon it" The presentation of seven as six and then the seventh is identical to how Shabbat is presented throughout the Torah. As the verses say ששת ימים תעבד וביום השביעי תשבות "Six days you shall work and on the seventh day you shall rest" ששת ימים תעשה מלאכה וביום השביעי יהיה לכם קדש שבת שבתון לה' For six days work shall be performed and on the seventh day it will holy for you, a Sabbath of Sabbaths for HaShem" However the Abarbanel explains that the six days of eating Massot here refers to the remaining six days of the holiday after spending the first day of the holiday in Jerusalem for the Pesah sacrifice. The previous verse concluded with ופנית בבקר והלכת לאהליך You can go back home on the first morning of Hol HaMo'ed. Then it says to eat Massot for six MORE days, not because Massot are obligatory on those days, but because they are part of the seven days of Massot mentioned previously when Hamess is forbidden. And then the seventh day of the HOLIDAY is a Yom Tob. The remaining six days are not all the same, the last one is a Yom Tob. So even though you only spend the first day of the holiday in Jerusalem, the seventh day is also observed as a Yom Tob, in your home, to commemorate the splitting of the Red Sea. This is how the Abarbanel explained the straightforward meaning of the verse. But the Halakhic explanation of the verse is that Massah is not mentioned at all in this verse for the seventh day of the holiday, because Massah is optional on that day. According to this explanation, the six days in this verse refer to the first six days of the holiday, and the seventh day teaches that Massah is optional on those days as well. Meaning that one is only obligated to eat Massah on the first night of the holiday when we read the Haggadah, but the rest of the holiday one is not required by the Torah to eat Massot. This is based on the Rabbinic principle of: כל דבר שהיה בכלל ויצא מן הכלל ללמד, לא ללמד על עצמו יצא אלא ללמד על הכלל כולו יצא Anything that was part of a group (in our case all seven days of Pesah), and left the group (the seventh day),it didn't leave the group only to teach about itself, it left the group to teach about the whole group. So when the Torah excluded the seventh day of Pesah from eating Massot in our verse, it teaches us that Massot are optional on all seven days of the holiday. The obligation to eat Massot on the first night of the holiday was taught in another verse (בערב תאכלו מצות "In the evening you shall eat Massot"). Among the many Missvot in this week's Perashah, there is both a negative and positive commandment regarding charity. The negative commandment is

לא תאמץ את לבבך ולא תקפוץ את ידך מאחיך האביון Don't harden your heart or close your hand from your destitute brother And the positive commandment is

פתח תפתח את ידך לו Open your hand to him (a poor person) So when a person is in a position to give charity and they don't, it is both a violation of a negative commandment and the failure to fulfill a positive commandment. The verse also instructs us to be happy when we give charity as it says in this week's Perashah

נתון תתן לו, ולא ירע לבבך בתתך לו You shall surely give to him (the poor person), and you shall not have a bad feeling in your heart when you give him Why should you be so happy when you give charity? The verse continues,

כי בגלל הדבר הזה יברכך ה' אלקיך בכל מעשיך ובכל משלח ידיך Because of this thing (giving charity) HaShem your Lord will bless you in all of your actions and in all of your endeavors. Not only does a person not lose money when they give charity, Hashem actually blesses you when you give! If you look at the verses instructing you to give charity, you'll notice the verbs are repeated. First it says פתוח תפתח then נתון תתן and then פתוח תפתח again. In the Gemara the Rabbis said "How do we know that if you gave a poor person (charity) one time, that you should give him (charrity) even one hundred times? From the repetition in the verse נתון תתן. Give and give again and keep on giving! It's important to note that giving is not only for the recipient. If someone is in need and you help them, of course you are improving and sometimes even saving their life. Charity also helps society function in a more orderly fashion. If nobody helped the poor there would be more crime, violence and children growing up without receiving a proper education and upbringing which leads to more problems in society. So by giving we create a better environment for our families as well. But it’s more than that. Every time a person gives charity, they improve their character by becoming a more generous person. They also demonstrate their faith in Hashem by giving away their money and believing Hashem's promise to bless them and reward them.