“And you shall refrain from helping him, [rather] you shall surely help with him.” This teaches you that specifically when he wants to work alongside you and wishes to lift [the burden] with you, then you are obligated to assist him. But if he sits idly and says, “Since the responsibility falls on you, you are obligated to lift it alone,” therefore it says you shall refrain from helping him, because the word him [lo] does not imply with him [imo]. For you are permitted to refrain from helping him when he does not want to join you in the work. From here we have a response regarding some of the poor among our people who impose themselves on the community and are unwilling to engage in any labor, even if they are capable of doing some work or anything else through which they could provide for their hungry households. They complain if they are not given enough for all their needs. But this is not what God commanded. Rather, you shall surely help with him, you shall surely lift up with him — meaning the poor person should do whatever is in His power to do, and if despite all this his hand cannot reach [sufficient livelihood], then every person in Israel is obligated to support him, strengthen him, and give him enough for what he lacks. You shall surely help — even up to a hundred times.

You shall not cook a kid in its mother’s milk. Regarding the reason for this commandment, most commentators have sought to explain but have not found a sufficient reason. Some say that this commandment is among the divine decrees [chukim] that have no reason known to us, and others say that it was originally a law of idolatry to cook meat in milk during their festivals, which is why this commandment is placed adjacent to the annual festivals. Some bring evidence from what is written And Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat (Genesis 4:4) [chelvehen, which is here understand as their milk], suggesting that they were accustomed to perform a service using meat with milk. It seems reasonable that this commandment relates to the prohibition of diverse kinds [kilayim] and the mixing of forces, because it is known that the flesh of the embryo is formed from the red blood of the female which produces all redness, for that is its source. Similarly, the milk of the animal also has its source in blood, as blood is transformed and becomes milk. According to this, both the flesh of the embryo and the milk come from the animal’s blood, as that is where they separate from. It is not proper to recombine them through cooking or through eating, since eating is also a form of cooking in the stomach. If one soaks meat in milk all day long, there is no violation of You shall not cook because they do not return to their original mixed state through soaking as they do through cooking in a pot or cooking in the stomach. This specifically applies when one eats meat first, as it does not cook quickly in the stomach before the milk arrives, but milk cooks quickly before the meat arrives, so there is not as much mixing. Therefore, there is no prohibition against eating meat after milk. The reason for this prohibition applies to all animal meat, but a kid in its mother’s milk is mentioned as the prime example because in this case the mixing is most fundamental and direct.

And in the portion of Re’eh, He [God] juxtaposed this commandment with forbidden foods, to tell you that the Torah did not only prohibit cooking [meat with milk] but also eating it. And here He juxtaposed it with the commandment of first fruits, because the fruits that ripened first should not be mixed with fruits that ripened later. Rather, those that ripened first should be brought to the house of the Lord your God, and the remainder shall be for you. Similarly, one should not mix the blood that was first “cooked” and from which the fetus was formed, with the blood that was “cooked” later and from which the milk was formed. For since God desired their separation, He does not want them to be mixed.

“And you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread.” The verse begins in plural form and concludes in singular form because all of Israel are responsible for one another, and God will not bless the bread of each individual until there are many who serve God, and all the descendants of Jacob serve Him as one. Then the bread of each and every person will be blessed. Some say that the service of God is better when many gather to pray together, for God is mighty and does not despise [read here as God does not despise the many] (Job 36:5). However, regarding matters of eating, it is better when each person eats their bread alone. And since most illnesses come either through foods from the outside, or through the overpowering of one element over another from within, therefore the verse says, And He will bless your bread and your water, and I will remove illness from your midst.