It's Up to Each of Us

Re’eh

Deuteronomy 11:26 - 16:17

Précis: Moses begins by quoting God, saying “Behold (re’eh), I set before you a blessing and a curse this day.” The outcome will depend on whether or not the people obey the commandments. A concern with idolatry permeates the ensuing verses. The parasha explains that there will be only one site for sacrifices. A test for a false prophet and the punishment of an idolatrous city are included. The parasha then shifts to other subjects: the prohibition against self-mutilation, the biblical basis of the laws of kashrut, tithing so that the Levite, the "stranger, the fatherless, and the widow” are taken care of. Remission of debts, freeing of Hebrew slaves, and the dedication of firstborn cattle are discussed, as are the commandments for the observance of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot.

Deuteronomy 11:26–28 “Behold I set before you a blessing and a curse this day; a blessing if you obey the commandment…and a curse, if you will not obey the commandments…”

As Nahama Leibowitz has suggested this verse is the fundamental expression of the Jewish idea of free will. This concept has been a gift of the Jewish People to all of humanity. Without free will, there can be no justice, because no individual could be responsible for his or her actions unless free will exists. We would, like other ancients, simply blame the “gods” or other outside forces for the impacts of the choices we make.

We have free will, this verse declares, but the gift carries consequences with it in the form of blessings or curses. Each one of us has the burden of choice and the knowledge that we are responsible for the outcomes.

In the first decade of this new century, Americans are bitterly divided. We are divided between Republicans and Democrats and Tea Party adherents. We are divided between those who think government is to blame for our society’s problems and those who think that only government can solve them. Perhaps not since the late 19th century have we been so starkly divided between rich and poor. We remain divided by class and by status. Perhaps most troubling, we are divided between those who have hope and those who have lost the ability to hope.

Because of these divisions, it has become easy to blame others. “It’s their fault” we say, and point fingers at each other. It is so easy and so tempting to lay the responsibility off on others.

The verse I am looking at this week stands in stark contrast to the blame-game. Each of us has free will, and each of us can make the right choices. We Jews have a rich ethical heritage which we can call upon to help us see the proper path to follow. According to Thomas Jefferson (or perhaps it was H.L. Menkin or maybe Eldridge Cleaver) “the people get the government they deserve.” Perhaps if we each make more correct choices, the government we “get” will be better than the one we have.