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Parashat Re’eh 5780 — 08/15/2020

Parashat Re’eh 5780 — 08/15/2020

Devarim 11:26-16:17

See, I present before you today a blessing and a curse … (11:26)

Or haChaim asks two questions on this verse. First, why does Moshe use the word “to see” when discussing what appears to be an intellectual choice? Second, why does he use the word anochi for I? Gd uses Anochi at the beginning of the Aseret haDibrot (10 “Commandments”) – is Moshe alluding to something here?

It appears that the intention is, he [Moshe] is seeking to encourage [the Jewish people] to choose the World on High and to diminish all the benefits of this world. Now to ensure that they consider his words credible, the moral instructor needs to have two qualities: One that he should be personally familiar with the goodness on High, and the second is that he should have attained the benefits of this world and the possessions it offers, because if the moral instructor is lacking that which can be acquired in this world, his words [comparing the two realms] will not be considered reliable by those who have attained the benefits of this world, because they will say “We do not tell someone who has not seen to come and relate [what he only knows second-hand]. If he would sample the pleasures of eminence in this world, and its possessions and delights, he would not despise it and choose something else.” [RAR: In other words, they will just dismiss the teacher’s words as sour grapes.] … Likewise, when someone seeks to promote the goodness of the World to Come, his words will not be considered accurate and reliable by the natural intellect, as long as he himself is basing his words on faith alone, for he has not seen [this world], nor does he know about it [first-hand].

While all this really makes perfect sense, we often have a strange idea of what a spiritual leader should be. We sometimes expect that to be “spiritual,” one must reject the material, one should ideally be an impoverished mendicant, otherworldly, self-flagellating. In other words, we often feel that the material world and the spiritual world are divorced from one another due to irreconcilable differences.

I believe Or haChaim is telling us that this opposition of material and spiritual is somewhat of a false dichotomy. The ideal state, as exemplified by Moshe Rabbeinu, is living 200% value of life – full, 100% spiritual development and full, 100% enjoyment of material life. According to the Midrash, Moshe was of great stature, handsome, wealthy and physically powerful, and of course he had developed himself spiritually to the highest degree. Or haChaim therefore punctuates the open phrase not as “See, I etc.” but rather as “See anochi!” “Look at me!” I’m a living example of someone who has both spirituality and material benefits. I can therefore tell you, seek spirituality first, connect with Gd first, and everything else on the material plane will automatically follow. But if you focus only on the material, you will not only lose your precious connection with Gd, but you will lose your material wealth as well.

How can such seemingly opposite values coexist? I will take our well-worn example from physics. When we see a solid object, we know that that object is made up of molecules, which are made up of atoms, which are made up of subatomic particles. The solid object is really mostly empty space. In fact, the subatomic particles are nothing other than vibrations of different interacting fields, fields which exist throughout time and space. Ultimately, we find that the different interacting fields are different aspects of one, unified, self-interacting field, that can vibrate in different modes to appear as the different elementary particles and their interactions. So at the basis of physical existence is this completely abstract, ethereal, singular field, and at the other extreme of existence is all the diversity of matter. In fact, the concrete is nothing other than an expression – a pattern of vibration – of the unified field. The only reality is the unified field.

If we take this deeper, we find the same in the spiritual realm. At the basis of existence is Gd, Who is singular, not made of parts, not created, not dependent on anything, Self- knowing. Gd creates all the different layers of existence, celestial, subtle, abstract and concrete. Gd is at one end of the spectrum – the transcendental end, beyond His creation, and the material world is on the other end of the spectrum. But the full spectrum of creation is nothing other than Gd’s expressions, Gd’s speaking to Himself as it were, from “Let there be light!” down to the finest detail of halachah. Gd is the only reality as we have often quoted: ayn od milvado / there is nothing but Him.

The apparent duality that we do have is not so much material vs. spiritual, but a difference in direction: inward, towards Gd, and outward, towards the material creation. As human beings we have been given a soul, which naturally moves inward, towards Gd from Whom it came, and a body, which naturally goes outward to interact with, and, ideally, to perfect the creation.

To bring a greater degree of order in creation takes energy and intelligence (to counteract the entropic direction of time given by the Second Law of Thermodynamics). This energy and intelligence comes from Gd, the infinite source of energy and intelligence at the basis of creation. But in order to be suitable conduits for this to happen, we cannot be outwardly directed all the time. We have to turn inward, towards Gd, towards our spiritual source. This t’shuvah / return towards our innermost spiritual nature enlivens and purifies us, and makes our job in the outer world more effective, efficient and joyful. By turning inward, we attune our Will to Gd’s Will, and enjoy the spiritual blessings of closeness to Gd, along with the material blessings of success and happiness, as Gd promises in His Torah.

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Commentary by Steve Sufian

Parashat Re’eh

“Re’eh” means “See!” or “Behold!”.

This is not ordinary seeing. This means “see deeply”, see into the level of life in which God’s commandments exist as One with Gd, not just the level at which we might hear them spoken or read them in a text. Moses speaks this word to make sure our ancestors and we see this Wholeness and experience this Wholeness as our Self so that we naturally choose to follow these commandments and are naturally Blessed rather than Cursed, as they and we would be if we are not open to the Wholeness but only to fragmented aspects of Life and therefore are unable to obey the commandments, even if we wish to.

This “See!” also resonates with the last part of the parshah, in which Moses says that three times a year (at Passover, Shavout, and Succoth,) we should appear before the Lord – be Seen by the Lord – in the place which He has chosen — appear in the Temple, so we may bring offerings and be seen there. When we See! In the way Gd and Moses want us to see then when we are Seen by Gd, Gd’s Sight flows through our eyes and we see ourselves as Gd Sees us.

And what is to be seen? The blessing if we hearken to the commandments of the Lord and the curse if we disobey them. When we hearken, we see deeply, we are naturally in tune with Gd, Gd’s Torah, Gd’s commandments and we naturally act in the Glow, Joy and Love of the Blessing.

Imagine Moses speaking with the Voice of God to our ancestors: how much the Blessing must have filled them and how unappetizing must have been the Curse.

This was a good preparation for Moses to give our ancestors as they were about to enter into Canaan, the Promised Land. It is a good level of Being that everyone – at any time and in any place – should innocently seek to experience before beginning the day, any day, every day. It is a good level of Being that everyone should innocently tune in to every moment of every day. Innocently. Innocently, meaning, “naturally, spontaneously, effortlessly.”

Gd gives everyone guidance, through Torah, through teachers, through hints, to help everyone tune in and live the Wholeness that spontaneously acts Rightly.

Temple where God chooses to put his Name [big mystery]

Maimonides writes: “The location of the Altar [in the Holy Temple] is very exactly defined… It is a commonly-held tradition that the place where David and Solomon built the Altar on the threshing floor of Arona (sic: Arauna), is the very place where Abraham built an altar and bound Isaac upon it; this is where Noah built [an altar] when he came out from the Ark; this is where Cain and Abel brought their offerings; this is where Adam the First Man offered a korban when he was created – and it is from [the earth of] this place that he was created….” from chabad.org

But why Adam was created from earth on this spot?

There is a tradition that Torah is Gd’s Name, the primordial vibration of Gd, Omnipresent, All-Pervading.: All places are Holy.

Why did Gd choose to especially emphasize the power of His Name in a particular place, and why Jerusalem and why the Temple Mount? I’ve looked for answers on the Internet and could not find any.

Perhaps it is a “chok,” a decree of Gd’s that passes understanding. But even so, we can have the fun of attempting to understand and getting closer to Gd through our attempt.

There is Gd’s statement, “Man is made in Gd’s Image” and from this standpoint perhaps our planet is also made in Gd’s image, whatever that may mean, and Jerusalem might correspond to the heart or the brain or the navel or the womb of the physiology of our planet; the Temple Mount may correspond to the central portion of one of these.

Perhaps it is in this place that we can Hear Name, See His Name and use His Name to call on Him to thank Him, to pray to Him, to ask for forgiveness from Him.

Just as the Mishkan, the Ark in the Wilderness, and the Temples were places where it was easier for people to perceive His Presence, even though His Presence is everywhere, so also the physical location of the Temple likely is a place where people can most easily call on Him, not only perceive Him, but communicate with Him: to speak and also to listen and to See!

Not only to speak but to hear and to listen, to see, to Behold!

Irrespective of the details of the physical Temple in Jerusalem, we know that our body and soul are Temples that we need to keep Holy so that Gd’s Presence is in our awareness at all times and in all places.

Just as “Man (humanity) is made in Gd’s image”, so also we are made in Jerusalem’s image, in the Temple’s Image and we can find Jerusalem within ourselves: our mind, our feelings, our physiology, our soul. And thus we can See and Hear Gd’s Name, Gd’s Presence – Totality – and restore to ourselves and to the world the reality that all there is Primordial Oneness, within which the duality of Gd and us is experienced as the Play of One. This is Seeing! Hearing! Healing! Holiness! Fulfillment!

Re’eh also warns to beware of false prophets or any others who entice idolatry — this would certainly bring the curse! “Idolatry” means not just worshiping statues of deities but worshiping fragments of Wholeness. Every action we do must be oriented naturally, spontaneously, effortlessly to increase the experience of Wholeness in our life and in all lives. Otherwise, it is oriented to a splinter of reality, a fragment and it is idolatry.

On the Blessing side, Re’eh tells us of Tithing, Charity, the Sabbatical Year in which all loans are forgiven, all slaves freed. This tells us that even on the ordinary level of life, no matter what place on Earth we are, by being good human beings, “loving our neighbor as ourself” we can attune to Gd and enjoy the Blessing – the Blessing is in our good actions, not something we need to wait to inherit.

Similarly, Moses speaks of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals: Passover, Shavuout, Sukkoth: Go to the Temple to appear with offerings before the Lrd.

This would certainly be good but we can also find Jerusalem in our heart and make special offerings with our open heart at these special times of year.

Re’eh begins with See! and concludes with: Appear so that you may be seen.

In every generation, especially ours today, we need to live our lives so that every moment we Behold! and every moment we Appear! with offerings, offerings to give back the Blessings we receive and restore ourselves and everyone and everything to Full Awareness: One and Only One!

Baruch HaShem!