18 Mishpatim: Day 6 (Friday)

Today's reading is Exodus 23:20 to 23:25.

This is the link to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad.

The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled "Supernatural Living."

On 13 February 2026 at 6:52 AM EST, Jonathan writes: 

 

Today's portion can be read as God's instruction to the vegan vanguard of a contemporary Commonwealth of Israel.

“See, I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you. Pay close attention to him, and obey his instructions. Do not rebel against him, for he is my representative, and he will not forgive your rebellion. But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you. For my angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, so you may live there. And I will destroy them completely. You must not worship the gods of these nations or serve them in any way or imitate their evil practices. Instead, you must utterly destroy them and smash their sacred pillars. You must serve only the Lord your God. If you do, I will bless you with food and water, and I will protect you from illness." (NLT)

According to the Midrash Tanhuma and Rashi, the angel in this case is Michael. According to the Talmud (Sanhedrin 38b), it is Metatron. Ibn Ezra thinks it is Joshua. On the Messianic Jewish view, this is a pre-incarnate appearance of Yeshua.

We must not rebel against the vegan angel that is God's representative to our movement. We are being led into a land filled with Burger Kings, McDonalds, and Dairy Queens. We must not worship these industrial food production system idols. We must fight against their advertising machinery with firm but loving wisdom. Eventually, if we cooperate, God will replace these industrial livestock agriculture idols with healthier vegan foods and beverages that protect us from many illnesses.

At the same time, we must turn our minority vegan charism into an idol for constant self-congratulation. We must maintain a charitable and diplomatic approach with our vegetarian and flexitarian co-religionists. Michael Pollan, for example, is not our enemy:

"Michael Pollan’s flexitarian food rules—summarized as "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."—are designed specifically to provide the health and environmental benefits of a plant-based diet while avoiding the strictness, social friction, and potential nutrient deficiencies often associated with strict vegetarianism and veganism. By promoting a semi-vegetarian approach, these rules allow for flexibility, reducing the risk of nutritional gaps like Vitamin B12 deficiency while still offering significant cardiovascular benefits."

See https://share.google/aimode/AnCrSHtjNjLIIJqNb

A vegan lifestyle conforms well to the Noachide law against cruelty toward animals.