Parshat Re'eh

Parshat Re'eh - Where is your antenna pointed?

As a kid, I loved listening to AM radio, especially at night. During the day, I could hear all the Philadelphia stations and sometimes those from New York. If I moved the dial slowly and lifted the antenna towards the ceiling at night, I could tune into baseball games broadcast from St.Louis, about 900 miles away. All it took was turning the dial slowly and paying attention to the signal.

The parsha begins with a famous verse.  Chapter 11, Verses 26-28, says, “Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse. The blessing, that you will heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today; and the curse, if you will not heed the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn away from the way I command you this day, to follow other gods, which you did not know.

Throughout these drashot, I’ve tried to instill in you the notion that your choices matter, potentially more than just about anything else. Each of you has the opportunity, every day, to make choices to observe mitzvot and treat your fellow humans with respect and empathy. Choice is the most human thing we can do—ultimately, what God wants us to do.

The story behind this verse is that the Jews are about to enter Israel.  Moshe tells the nation they are to choose between blessings and curses, between accepting Hashem and the alternate.

The Rebbe’s Chumash dissects this choice in three ways, with each elevating our observance. First, he says, we can observe mitzvot out of plain obedience. This approach lacks understanding and appreciation of the Torah but does represent a willingness to accept the yoke of Hashem.

Second, an individual builds on her deference to Hashem and performs mitzvot because she understands that mitzvah observance can bring reward. However, this choice is motivated by potential upside.

The third approach to understanding this choice is to use the power of sight (Re’eh). Using this “spiritual vision,” she sees that the core of our spiritual enlightenment is identifying Hashem in everything around us and doing mitzvot to honor Him.

In my search for spiritual vision, I’ve sought out sages, experts, and gurus. Moshe tells us that the key is to see Hashem right before us. It is a choice we can make every day.

One question to consider is whether it is a curse that Moses references. The Rebbe’s Chumash asks the following question. “How could Gd, who is the very essence of good, issue a curse. (After all) aren’t we taught that ‘No evil thing is issued from Above?’” (Midrash Rabah 51:3)

Onkelos is on one side of the debate about the meaning of the verse. He wrote a translation during the downtrodden Babylonian era. He interprets the word “K’Lalah” as a curse, which makes sense, given the horrible conditions and spiritual depths the nation experienced.

However, the Targum Yonasan wrote his commentary during the Temple era when blessings were abundant. He interpreted the word differently, claiming that K’Lalah could be translated as “substitute” instead of a curse.

I prefer the idea that Gd chooses only to bless us, not curse us. One answer to this back-and-forth is that Gd grants blessings we see and can handle. He doesn’t grant curses. Instead, these “substitute” blessings are just ones we can’t access or accommodate. We don't have our antennae in the right direction to receive them because we choose what to prioritize.

The Chumash adds that difficulties, trials, and tests Gd sends us are the means to achieve the ultimate objective - elevating our soul to the highest level possible. These troubles aren’t curses but are all part of Hashem’s system in which we have to work and toil to reach the highest levels of reward and goodness - which we have to earn.

We have a fighting chance to elevate our souls and be attuned to Gds blessings. Isaiah 60:21 says, “Your people are all righteous.”

I take great solace in this quote. I don’t like to think of Hashem as vengeful. I prefer to think of your souls and mine as inherently good. I also want to feel that Gd has given us a playbook and many hints on what he believes will help us grow.

If Gd seeks to offer me blessings and I’m not acting appropriately or in the right headspace, then that’s on me. I’m okay with a Gd that passes judgment, but not one that seeks my downfall.

Rav Hirsch builds on this idea. He looks at the same word, K’Lalah. He says that if a blessing brings progress and prosperity, the curse brings emptiness and a void. Our choice to be disobedient means we are missing something. Our actions will cause a loss of self-worth and a regression to personal nothingness.

He adds that Judaism’s belief in one God is not simply a belief in God’s existence; it is an acknowledgment of His rule over us and one that entails submission to His will. 

Moshe tells us that we will be cursed because we will chase after idols. These words reflect not just actively choosing to worship idols but minimizing the centrality of Hashem in our lives. Hirsch says that Gd revealed himself to us and connected himself with our fate in a thousand different ways.  Can we point to an idol that did the same?

With that rebuke, we reach the crux of what it means to “see” for ourselves. We’ve been given a pure and holy soul. We choose what to believe and how to act. When we are aligned with Hashem, the blessings will flow and be received. When we aren’t, it is not his fault, it is ours, and we’ll miss the signals he sends.