1st Portion Re'eh Part 3 (Deu 12:3-7)

3 Break down their altars [of many stones], smash their sacred stones [of one stone] and burn their Asherah poles [trees that they worship] in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places [by giving it a new, demeaning name].

4 You must not worship the Lord your God in their way [to offer sacrifices in all places]. 5 But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling [the sanctuary of Shiloh]. To that place you must go; 6 there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices [obligatory peace-offerings], your tithes [the beast-tithe and the second tithe] and special gifts [first-fruits], what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks [to give them to the priest to be sacrificed there]. 7 There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, [bring offerings in accordance with the blessing] because the Lord your God has blessed you.

Rashi’s Commentary

12:3 Altar consists of many stones.

Monument of one stone only. It is the בִּימוּס, the pedestal for idolatrous statuary, of which we learn in the Mishna (Avodah Zarah 3:7): A stone which one originally hewed for an idol’s pedestal is forbidden for use.

Asherah is a tree that had been worshiped (Avodah Zarah 47a).

And wipe out their names by giving them contemptuous nicknames. What they call בֵּית גליא, “a sublime house,” you should call בֵּית כְּלִיָא, “a base house,” what they call עַיִן כָּל, “the universal eye,” you should call עַיִן קוֹץ “the thorn eye” (Avodah Zarah 46a).

12:5 You are to seek for his dwelling—This refers to the Tabernacle at Shiloh (Sifrei Devarim 62:3).

12:6 And sacrifices—Obligatory feast-offerings (cf. Sifrei Devarim 63:7).

Your tithes—i.e. both the tithe of the herds and the second tithe, in order to consume them within the wall (cf. Sifrei Devarim 63:8).

And the firstborn of your herds—In order to give them to the priest that he may offer them there.

12:7 Because the Lord your God has blessed you—In accordance with the blessing bring the offerings of festive rejoicing (Sifrei Devarim 64:5).

SifreiDevarim 64:1

12:7 There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you . . . shall eat—It is found that there were two precincts (for eating), one for holy of holies, and one for lower-order offerings.