“The road is long with many a winding turn that leads us to who knows where. But I’m strong, strong enough to carry him. He ain’t heavy; he’s my brother.” These lyrics, from a 1969 song by the English rock and pop band The Hollies, are based on a story from a Boys Town orphanage in 1918. Back then, a boy named Howard Loomis was abandoned by his mother at Father Edward J. Flanagan’s Home for Boys, which had opened just a year earlier. Howard had polio and wore heavy leg braces. Walking was difficult for him, especially when he had to go up or down steps. Soon, several of the home’s older boys were carrying Howard up and down the stairs. One day, Father Flanagan asked Reuben Granger, one of those older boys, if carrying Howard was hard. Reuben replied, “He ain’t heavy, Father…He’s my brother.” This quote, along with the image of an older boy carrying a younger boy on his back, have both since become the motto and defining brand of Boys Town.

Christian context notwithstanding, I immediately thought of the 1969 song by The Hollies when reading the section on tithes in this week’s Torah portion, Re’eh. The Israelite farmers must set aside a tenth of all the produce each year. In four years out of seven, namely years 1, 2, 4, and 5, the tithe is to be taken to the Central Sanctuary in Jerusalem where it is consumed by the farmer and his household during the course of worship. In the third and sixth years of each seven-year cycle, however, the farmers must not eat the tithe at the Sanctuary in Jerusalem but must deposit it in their hometowns to feed the Levites and the poor. In the seventh or sabbatical year, there was no tithe given since there was no harvest. Regarding the tithes brought to Jerusalem, the Torah states: “Should the distance be too great for you, because you will not be able to carry it (the produce) as the place where God chose to establish His name is far from you and because the Lord your God has blessed you, you may convert them into money. Wrap up the money and take it with you to the place that the Lord your God has chosen, and spend the money on anything you want…And you shall feast there, in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice with your household” (Deuteronomy 14:24-26). Because of the abundant crops with which God blessed the Israelite farmers, the tithe would be too ample and heavy to transport over a long distance to Jerusalem. The Torah therefore stipulates that those Israelites dwelling too far from the Sanctuary could redeem their tithe for money and purchase any food items at the Sanctuary they desire, avoiding the arduous task of shipping the goods to Jerusalem.

Yet, if one analyzes the actual wording in the Torah, there seems to be a reversal of cause and effect. The Torah does not say: “If you will not be able to carry it because the distance will be too long.” On the contrary, it says: “The distance will be too long because you will not be able to carry it.” Why did the Torah reverse the phrase? Perhaps the Torah is conveying a homiletically important message. It is not a matter of sheer distance; it is too long if one does not really want to carry the load. If one, however, carries the load with joy, then the distance is not a long one. In verse twenty-four when it states: “because the place…is far from you…” the Hebrew word for place, Makom, is also one of the names of God. Thus, the verse could mean “should the distance seem too great for you because God is far from your heart.” One of the reasons given for bringing the tithe to the Sanctuary in Jerusalem and consuming it there is to inspire a sense of reverence for God and God’s grace in our lives. It also reiterates our dependence upon the Divine. It would impress upon the Israelites that the yearly produce was the bounty of God. The likelihood that the farmer and his household were not able to consume the whole of the tithe might furthermore compel him to give part away to the poor and the needy.

“It's a long, long road from which there is no return. While we're on the way to there, why not share? And the load doesn't weigh me down at all. He ain't heavy. He's my brother.” This final verse from that 1969 song by the Hollies, and our verses from Parashat Re’eh, convey the same message. If one decides that he is carrying a heavy burden, then the road, no matter what the distance, will always be too long. No matter how difficult a mitzvah seems, if one observes it with joy and with pleasure, one can carry the load for long distances. Shabbat Shalom.