ספורנו — לא תבשל גדי בחלב אמו / עשר תעשר

Q — "לא תבשל גדי בחלב אמו" closes one section in Re'eh, and "עשר תעשר" immediately opens the next. What is the connection between this odd-couple semichut?

A — For Sforno, the link is wealth. The Canaanites used "בישול גדי בחלב אמו" not as cuisine but as a *magical practice* to multiply their flocks: "כמעשה הכנענים שהיו חושבים להרבות בזה הפעל מקניהם וקנינם וכל בהמתם." The Torah outlaws the Canaanite shortcut — and immediately offers a kosher alternative for the same goal: "עשר תעשר... כי בעישור התבואה והבהמה תרבה התבואה וירבה המקנה" — Chazal's famous derivation, "עשר בשביל שתתעשר" (Shabbat 119a). Both are mechanisms for wealth multiplication; one is forbidden idolatrous practice, the other is halachically endorsed. The semichut isn't topical drift — it's a deliberate substitution. The Torah doesn't ignore the human desire to increase one's flocks; it redirects it from sympathetic magic to mitzvah.