Parashat Re'eh, Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17

This week’s parasha is in memory of Al Potts, father of Adrienne Rosen, Myra White and grandfather of Alana and Sally.

Our dependence on sight overwhelms our other senses and challenges our ability to believe in an invisible God.

I always thought that Shylock got it wrong when he began his famous speech with "Hath not a Jew eyes." After all, from a Jewish perspective it is not the eyes that are important, it is the ears. The words that we set upon our hearts are sh'ma yisrael, "Hear O Israel" (Deut. 6:4).

Then again, Shakespeare may have read this week's parasha which begins with the word re'eh, "See I set before you this day blessing and curse" (Deut. 11:26). If Billy the Bard knew Hebrew, he would notice the grammatical problem in this verse. The first word re'eh ("see") is in the singular, but the word for "before you" lifneykhem, is plural.

What's going on? The 11th century scholar Bachya ibn Paquda explained that the commandments were placed before the entire people, hence the plural; but the choice of fulfilling the mitzvot is left to the individual's free will.

Writing in The Call of the Torah, Rabbi Elie Munk delves more deeply into the issue of sight: "To clearly understand the problem of free will, one must be able to see into his own conscience. And so the Torah begins its considerations regarding this problem with the verb re'eh, see, which goes much deeper than the verb sh'ma, hear. Whereas hear implies an impression of external factors affecting one's life, see suggests an internal perception, penetrating deep into one's soul."

The idea of sight is woven throughout the parasha; and it is clearly intended to shift the focus from physical sight toward inward perception. Deuteronomy 12:2-3 instructs us to tear down the visible sites (unintentional pun) of other gods, as well as to cut down their images. Chapter 13:2 talks about false prophets who might arise giving us ottot u-moftim, “visible signs and portents,” in addition to the particular prophetic vision arising from dreaming dreams. (Interestingly, Onkelos who provides the Aramaic translation for the Bible, renders the word re'eh as hazei, related to the Hebrew word for a vision –hazon.)

Sight also affects behavior. We are instructed to be visibly different from others (Deut. 14:1). Visible signs also set apart slaves unwilling to go free (Deut. 15:16-17). Even much of the food that is declared kasher, fit to eat, is readily determined by looking at an animal's features (Deut. 14:6-7, 10).

Yet Re'eh also highlights a problem with sight. It has a powerful hold over us and so we are cautioned about each one of us doing what is "right in one’s own sight" (Deut. 12:8). This is the tension that brings us back to the very beginning of the parasha. While God sets the commandments before all of us, each one of us must make an individual choice. Doing what seems right to the individual can end up being harmful to the community. What is "right in one’s own sight" can lead to tunnel vision.

Sight – or lack thereof – plays a pivotal role in a number of important events in the Torah. Eve saw that the fruit was good for eating and "a delight to the eyes" (Gen 2:6). After Eve's snack, which she shared with Adam, "the eyes of both of them were opened" (Gen 2:7). Abraham lifted his eyes, seeing the ram and saving Isaac's life. Isaac's lack of sight meant that Jacob got the eldest's blessing. God uncovered Balaam's eyes, which eventually led him to bless Israel "with eyes unveiled" (Num. 24:4-5).

Sight can also be an obstacle. Most people rely on their eyes more than on any other sense. Yet we Jews believe in a God we cannot see. Our dependence on sight overwhelms our other senses and challenges our ability to believe in an invisible God. Even Moses, on top of Mount Sinai, closer to God than any other human, still requests to see God (Ex. 33:18-23). If Moses is so short-sighted, what hope is there for the rest of us?

The path from sight to perception to insight is the key to the parasha and to the lesson we uncover in it. "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" (Deut. 11:26-28). Everything is clearly spelled out for us. Seeing is the first step to experiencing; experience leads to internalization, which results in a visible behavioral change. In the words of Isaac Abravanel "Things seen will move the heart more than things heard."

Shabbat shalom,
MS