Parashat Re’eh 5786 – 08/08/2026
Beginning with Bereishit 5781 (17 October 2020) we embarked on a new format. We will be considering Rambam’s (Maimonides’) great philosophical work Moreh Nevukim (Guide for the Perplexed) in the light of the knowledge of Vedic Science as expounded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The individual essays will therefore not necessarily have anything to do with the weekly Torah portion, although certainly there will be plenty of references to the Torah, the rest of the Bible, and to the Rabbinic literature. For Bereishit we described the project. The next four parshiyyot, Noach through Chayei Sarah, laid out a foundational understanding of Vedic Science, to the degree I am capable of doing so. Beginning with Toledot we started examining Moreh Nevukim. The text we are working from is the two-volume translation by Prof. Shlomo Pines, University of Chicago Press, 1963.
Devarim 11:26-16:17
Dear readers,
There are a number of short weeks coming up for me. This week I have been in Winnipeg for the Bar Mitzvah of my oldest grandson! On 8/31 I will be traveling to Fairfield to bring someone to the last part of the digital TTC, and the week of 9/20 I will be picking him up (Monday of that week is also Yom Kippur). The week after that is Sukkot. What this means is that for the next weeks my entries will probably be a bit shorter than normal, which many may see as a positive development! If need be, we’ll dip into the archives for some oldies but goodies.
Bob
Rambam goes on to discuss the third opinion, that of Aristotle: He begins by showing that there is a large similarity in their reasoning and conclusions:
The third opinion is that of Aristotle, his followers, and the commentators of his books. He asserts what also is asserted by the people belonging to the sect that has just been mentioned, namely, that something endowed with matter can by no means be brought into existence out of that which has no matter. He goes beyond this by saying that the heaven is in no way subject to generation and passing-away. His opinion on this point may be summed up as follows. He thinks that this being as a Whole, such as it is, has never ceased to be and will never do so; that the permanent thing not subject to generation and passing-away, namely, the heaven, likewise does not cease to be; that time and motion are perpetual and everlasting and not subject to generation and passing-away; and also that the thing subject to generation and passing-away, namely, that which is beneath the sphere of the moon, does not cease to be. I mean to say that its first matter is not subject in its essence to generation and passing-away, but that various forms succeed each other in it in such a way that it divests itself of one form and assumes another.
We have already dealt with some of these issues, both from the point of view of modern physics and Vedic Science. First, there is the distinction between form and matter, which we saw did not apply at the level of the Unified Field. What we perceive as matter is actually a pattern of vibration of the Unified Field, and it is only when our perception is confined to the surface level that we perceive it as such. In this case, the changing of forms, including the generation or decay of matter, is really just a change in the pattern of vibration of the Unified Field. As to the heavens’ being immutable and not subject to generation and corruption, the working assumption is that the laws of nature that hold on earth, also hold in space, albeit often under extremes of density and pressure (either high density, e.g. in stars, or low density between galaxies).
Now we think that the Unified Field is something which transcends space and time, and is therefore eternal. If, however, time and space are actually created from within the Unified Field (which is an open question) then the question of creation in time takes on a new look. We can still trace time backwards from the present moment, based on our understanding of how the universe evolves (said understanding being crucially dependent on our understanding of how the Unified Field operates) to get the “moment in time” at which the universe was created. What happens “before” that, if the idea of “before time existed” makes any sense at all, is something which physics cannot answer.
To tell the truth, I have never felt comfortable with the idea that Gd created one universe at one point in the vast eternity of time, and it will go through whatever cycle it goes through, and then that’s that. After all, even if our universe lasts 60 billion years, there’s plenty of time left for trying out different permutations and combination of initial conditions, different parameters (what would it be like if the gravitational constant were 10% bigger). In fact, Midrashic lore teaches that Gd created and destroyed many universes, trying to achieve an appropriate balance between the attributes of mercy and strict justice. Now Gd certainly doesn’t need “trial and error” to come up with a universe that He finds acceptable, and if time is only created along with the universe, it is unclear what “before” means in the context of these many universes, but the implication is that our universe is in fact not unique, and may be part of some kind of sequence of universes.
There is actually a theory in physics that there are multiple universes, each with a unique set of constants and parameters, and therefor each with its own path of evolution. It is known that there is a very narrow range of parameters that can give rise to human life (and therefore human consciousness) as we know it. We, of course, live in a universe which has parameters in this range, since we know that our universe has given rise to human life and human consciousness. Now there are two approaches to this phenomenon. The first, called the strong anthropic principle holds that the universemust have parameters that will give rise to human consciousness. In other words, this statement is that human consciousness is the purpose of creation. The weak anthropic principle is as we stated at the beginning of the paragraph – there are many universes and we will always be found in those that have parameters suitable to human life. Whether either of these principles actually holds true is an unanswered question.
Rambam concludes this chapter by discussing the differences between the latter two opinions, which deny creatio ex nihilo, and those who accept the notion that Gd can, in fact, create out of nothing. Rambam, of course, subscribes to the latter view, as does virtually all of Jewish thought. It seems to me that the most comprehensive view is that of Vedic Science, that there is a Unified Field, the field of Consciousness, which continually expresses itself to itself, from within itself. It is our privilege as human beings to be able to witness this eternal play and display of intelligence.
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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 Gd’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 Lrd – be Seen by the Lrd – in the place which He has chosen – appear in the Temple of the particular tribe to which we belong, 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 Lrd 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?
Gd is Everywhere: 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 it is especially easy for us to Hear Gd’s Name, See Gd’s Name and use His Name to call on Him to thank Him, to pray to Him, to ask for forgiveness.
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 Gd, perceive Gd, communicate with Gd – to speak, to hear, to see and be Seen.
Not only to speak but to hear and to listen, to see, to Behold and to be aware that we are seen!
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, minds, feelings, physiologies, souls. Thus, we can See and Hear Gd’s Name, Gd’s Presence – Totality – and restore to ourselves and to the world the reality that One is all there is 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 us to 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 Gd Above all, “loving our neighbor as ourself (Self)” we can attune to Gd and enjoy the Blessing – the Blessing is in our good actions, not just in the goal of them.
Similarly, Moses speaks of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals: Passover, Shavuout, Sukkoth: Go to the Temple to appear with offerings before the Lord.
This would certainly be good but we can also find Jerusalem in our heart every moment and make special offerings with our open heart every moment.
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! Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omni-Loving, Omni-Joyful, All-in-All—One!
Baruch HaShem!