Parashat Re'eh
Seeing Is
Believing
Parashat Re'eh
calls our attention to our ability to choose the directions of our lives.
By Rabbi Stephen Karol
The following article is reprinted with permission from The Union of American Hebrew Congregations. For a free e-mail subscription to the UAHC's
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Parashah Overview
- God places both blessing and curse
before the Israelites. They are taught that blessing will come through the
observance of God's laws (11:2632).
- Moses' third discourse includes laws
about worship in a central place (12:128); injunctions against idolatry
(12:2913:19) and self-mutilation (14:12); dietary rules (14:321); and
laws about tithes (14:2225), debt remission (15:111), the release and
treatment of Hebrew slaves (15:1218), and firstlings (15:1923).
- Moses reviews the correct sacrifices to
be offered during the Pilgrim Festivals--Pesach, Sukkot, and Shavuot.
Focal Point
See, this day I set
before you blessing and curse: blessing, if you obey the commandments of Adonai
your God that I enjoin upon you this day; and curse, if you do not obey the
commandments of Adonai your God but turn away from the path that I enjoin upon
you this day and follow other gods, whom you have not experienced. When Adonai
your God brings you into the land that you are about to invade and occupy, you
shall pronounce the blessing at Mount Gerizim and the curse at Mount Ebal. Both
are on the other side of the Jordan, beyond the west road that is in the land
of the Canaanites who dwell in the Arabah near Gilgal by the terebinths of
Moreh. (Deuteronomy 11:2630)
Your Guide
Why does the first
sentence of this portion begin with the imperative form of the verb
"see?"
Although the
alternatives between blessing and curse in Deuteronomy 11:2728 are clear, do
the people really have the freedom to choose between them without fearing that
they are offending God?
Is the power of
positive thinking at work in verse 29, which says, "When [italics
added] Adonai your God brings you into the land that you are about to invade
and occupy" rather than "If God brings you
?"
Is verse 30 merely
an editor's note that was added later, or is the mentioning of the
"terebinths of Moreh," where God appeared to Abram in Genesis 12:7,
meant to have special significance for the people, who are about to enter
Canaan?
By the Way
The Rabbis of the
Talmud note that the Hebrew grammar in this phrase [Deuteronomy 11:26] is
surprising. It begins with the singular and ends with the plural! "What
lesson," they ask, "is buried in that awkward formation?"
According to our Sages, we learn from the singular Re'eh
("See") that the mitzvot are given to the entire people--to
all Jews as a group. The contours of our religion are not the personal
preference of each individual Jew. Yet at the same time, the phrase ends with lifneichem
("before you [all]"), a plural construct, to remind us that each
individual must decide whether or not to commit heart, mind, and soul to
cultivating our b'rit ("covenant") with God. (Bradley Shavit
Artson, Parashat Re'eh, August 13, 2001, in "Today's Torah,"
Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies)
This week's opening
verse reminds me of an old song titled "What a Difference a Day Makes."
"See," we read, "I give you a blessing and a curse." For
the Israelites, as for us, that day changed our lives: We learned to choose
blessing as our lot .
The verb in "I give you" ought to read in the
past tense, "I gave." The Torah already has been given, after all;
Moses is just recapitulating its contents here. But tradition insists that we
read it as "I give." This week's blessing is not about some
historical fact that happened once and for all; it is about ongoing human
existence. Apparently, we have an ever-present gift from God, an ever-present
choice, perhaps, between blessing and curse. (Lawrence Hoffman, "Mixed
Blessings: What a Difference Today Makes" in "Sabbath Week," The
Jewish Week)
They are virtually
twins, two average peaks in a land where Himalayan ecstasies are not part of
the landscape. Average mountains, average children. However, the peak of
blessing, Mount Gerizim, is nearer the sun, moist and fruitful; the peak of
curse, Mount Ebal, is lean, arid, and dry. Ramban adds a mystical dimension: Of
the two mountains, Gerizim is to the south, symbolizing divine love; Ebal is to
the north, symbolizing strict justice and law. Parents must give their children
love and limits, concerns and curtailments. When push comes to shove, the
ultimate choice in favor of blessing will depend upon the strength of the
portion of love. (Shlomo Riskin, "The Mountain of Love" in
"Sabbath Week," The Jewish Week)
Your Guide
Rabbi Artson states
that Judaism is not based on "the personal preference of each individual
Jew." When should we put the good of the community above our own personal
preference?
Pointing out the
potential of one's actions was Moses' role and remains the role of rabbis
today. How much influence do you think present-day rabbis have on the lives of
those they lead?
Is it truly a
blessing, as Rabbi Hoffman says, for us to be able to choose between blessing
and curse? Would you rather have someone choose for you?
What is your
response to Rabbi Riskin's metaphor about the two mountains?
D'var Torah
Because I am
primarily a "visual learner," I am attracted to the first word of
this portion, Re'eh. I remember someone's phone number better if I have
visualized it on a list; I read from the Torah better if I can picture the
vowels that were in the Tikkun [the book which is used to learn the
cantillation of a Torah portion]; and I recall experiences better if I can
replay them in my head as if they were on a VCR in my brain.
It seems to me that
our ancestors who went out of Egypt were also visual learners. They had lived
in a country that was a "feast for the eyes" (although they weren't
able to partake of that feast), and this image stayed in their memories.
Consider that they had seen big buildings everywhere, that the Egyptians had looked
different than they did, that the Ten Plagues had been incredible sights, and
that the successful crossing of the Sea of Reeds and the drowning of the
Egyptians came under the category of "I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't
seen it with my own eyes!"
Yet the use of the
word "see" at the beginning of Parashat Re'eh is about
something other than the physical act of seeing. Of the more than four hundred
times in which the verb "see" is used in the Tanakh, this is
one of the few times in which it has special significance. Others include the
following:
In Genesis 27,
Isaac, whose "eyes were too dim to see" (27:1), smells the clothes
that he thinks are Esau's and says, "Re'eh, the smell of my son is
like the smell of the fields that Adonai has blessed" (27:27). In
Genesis 41:41, Pharaoh says to Joseph, "Re'eh, I put you in charge
of all the land of Egypt" after Joseph has proposed his plan to save Egypt
from famine. When Moses has doubts about whether Pharaoh is listening to him,
God replies: "Re'eh, I place you in the role of God to
Pharaoh" (Exodus 7:1). After the people bring their freewill offerings for
the Tabernacle, Moses introduces the man in charge by saying, "R'u
[plural of Re'eh], Adonai has singled out by name Bezalel
"
(Exodus 35:30). And in a phrase strikingly similar to the one at the beginning
of Parashat Re'eh, we read about clear-cut choices again in Deuteronomy
30:15: "Re'eh, I set before you this day life and prosperity, death
and adversity."
In each of the
examples above, the speaker is announcing something that will have an impact on
the future. We often use the imperative form when we want to get people's
attention. For example, when we are trying to make an important point, we say,
"Look, this is what I want you to understand" or "Do you see
what I mean?" The word Re'eh is a way of drawing attention to what
is happening or is about to happen, focusing on its importance, and recognizing
that the future will be different based on the choice that is about to be made.
Whether or not you can see the blessings or the curses in front of you, you
have to believe that you can, and then you have to believe that God has given
you the ability to do what is right as an individual and as a member of the
Jewish community.
Stephen Karol is
the rabbi of Temple Isaiah, Stony Brook, N.Y.
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