08-21-2025 Re’Eh

The name of this week’s parashah is Re’eh (See).  You will find this parashah in the Book of  Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17. This weekly section  covers multiple themes, including a warning against  idolatry, the kosher dietary laws, and the three  pilgrimage festivals to Jerusalem: Passover,  Shavuoth, and Succoth.  

A common thread throughout the text is the idea that  there are consequences to our actions, that is if we  obey G-d’s laws then blessings will follow; if we  choose to ignore these laws, then curses will come. 

A close examination of this section reveals a  multitude of questions. How do we know that we are following G-d’s law the way that G-d intended? Are  the laws precise or symbolic? How do we deal with an unchangeable law in a world in which G-d  created constant change? Furthermore, Judaism  has always placed “hearing” above “seeing.” It is from this concept of the intangibleness of sound that  we learn that G-d is beyond definition and even to  define G-d is also a form of idolatry. 

This approach contrasts with Western culture, which  often relies on visual evidence and the notion that  “seeing is believing.” Judaism teaches that our  perceptions can be flawed, and what appears true  may ultimately be false. Is it for this reason that  Judaism emphasizes the importance of sound  instead of sight? Like sound, G-d is both  everywhere and nowhere, untouchable yet always  present. 

The text emphasizes this point in its first sentence,  where the initial verb “re’eh” (see) is in the singular and its complementary preposition “lifnechem”  (before all of you) is in the plural. This suggests that a society’s successes are based on the collective  choices of individuals, and these individual choices result in societal consequences. Might this be the  reason that the Biblical text spends so much time on  food and its relationship to our spirituality? In this  week’s section we learn the importance of spiritual  discipline around eating. The text sends a clear  message that spirituality is about far more than what  we do during times of prayer but rather extends into  every area of our daily lives. 

Analyzed in this manner, the parashah teaches us  that a society is only as strong as its citizens’ moral  and ethical fabric. The Biblical perspective on  choice then is very different from that of Western  culture. Modern Western cultures often preach that  life is about choice. The Biblical position would  argue that we are not free to do whatever we desire without regard to the collective consequences of our  individual actions. What do you think?