Re’eh
Deut. 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 blessing flows from observance of the laws and the curses result from violations. A concern with idolatry permeates the following verses. The parasha explains that there will be a single 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: a prohibition against self-mutilation, the biblical basis of the laws of kashrut, tithing so that the needs are met for the Levites, the "stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.” 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.
Deut. 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…”
Shlomo Ressler has noted (Weekly D’var, 8/10/15) that this week's parasha starts off with the word “Re’eh,” which means “See.” What are we seeing, and why do we need to see it? He cites Rabbi Yehoshua Wender who explains that in our lives we are all on a quest for truth. This search for truth is especially important these days. But in our search, we need to see things in their proper lights. In everything in this world there is truth, and there could be falseness, and it is our job to not be tricked by the lies. So how do we know what's true and what's not?
Ressler suggests that Torah contains the ultimate truth and protection from falseness. (I might add that in this case “Torah” is more than the Five Books, but the sum total of all Jewish learning.) Living in today’s world is like being in a room of fun house mirrors. You walk in, and there are all these curvy mirrors that distort your image. Some make you look fat, others make you tall, and others make you skinny. The only way to get a true image of yourself is to look in a flat, uncurved mirror. Torah is such a mirror: one can look in Torah and find the truth, untainted, uncurved, and undistorted.
Ressler suggests that Torah contains the ultimate truth and protection from falseness. (I might add that in this case “Torah” is more than the Five Books, but the sum total of all Jewish learning.) Living in today’s world is like being in a room of fun house mirrors. You walk in, and there are all these curvy mirrors that distort your image. Some make you look fat, others make you tall, and others make you skinny. The only way to get a true image of yourself is to look in a flat, uncurved mirror. Torah is such a mirror: one can look in Torah and find the truth, untainted, uncurved, and undistorted.
I suggest that these days, it is ever more important to use the mirror of our tradition to find truth.
