By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.
EL CAJON, California — Parsha Re’eh, typically read on the Shabbat preceding the month of Elul, serves as a spiritual springboard for us in the coming season of cheshbon hanefesh. This Torah portion offers profound insights that prepare us for Elul, the month of repentance, an introspective time of spiritual renewal, a time for an “accounting of the soul.”
It’s no coincidence, of course, that Re’eh, begins, “See (look), I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the L-rd your G-d, which I am commanding you today; and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the L-rd your G-d, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known.” What we choose to see will help determine whether today will be a blessing or not.
Notice the tense of “…I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse…” Why isn’t it read, “…I set before you today a blessing and a curse…”? This teaches us that it isn’t in the past that we received blessing and curse, but rather we do so ongoingly, daily, as an ever-present part of our lives, a reward, a gift.
Elul brings a time for us to step outside of our daily numbing mindlessness, and to carefully review our choices, good and bad, to see and recognize our wrongdoings and those things we incorrectly attached ourselves to, to prepare to do “t’shuvah,” repent, and to grow. Perhaps that’s what Hashem is telling us in the parsha. He puts blessings and curses in front of us and teaches us the path to blessings every day of our lives. He’s telling us to open our minds, our eyes, to the positive, to the blessings in life. This, the parsha is teaching, will bring happiness. Parshat Re’eh challenges us to see beyond our limited understanding and open ourselves to the transformative power of Hashem’s wisdom in shaping our choices and actions.
Rebbe Nachman expands on the concept of “seeing,” teaching that true vision, our greatest spiritual challenge, involves discerning between truth and falsehood. When we actively seek and recognize truth through our Torah our guidebook to a spiritually healthy life, our perception – both physical and spiritual – becomes clearer and more focused.
Conversely, sheker (falsehood) distorts our perception. It can make significant things seem trivial or create illusions of multiplicity where there is unity. Rebbe Nachman emphasizes that truth is singular and unified. While it may have many facets, there can only be one ultimate truth.
What constitutes clear vision and truth? It’s recognizing Hashem’s presence in every aspect of our lives – in each event and experience throughout our day. This clarity of vision also allows us to perceive the inherent goodness within ourselves and others.
Some confuse reverence for Hashem with obligation. He is not telling us to be robotic, but instead to choose joyfully, to expand our joy mindset, to listen to His commandments with gladness. Remember, “…let us exult and rejoice on the day the L-rd has made.” The essence of this week’s Torah reading may be seen as an invitation to embrace humility and His wisdom, by recognizing the inherent limitations of our perceptions and judgments, urging us to place our trust, our emunah, our bitachon, in the profound insights offered by Hashem’s infinite wisdom.
As an example, in this week’s parsha, Moses speaks of a commandment that our sages consider equal to all others combined: tzedakah, or charity. This mitzvah is said to bring redemption, and for millennia, Jewish communities worldwide have upheld this tradition through dedicated charity funds. But it goes far deeper.
The Torah instructs us:
“If there is a needy person among you, one of your kinsmen in any of your settlements… do not harden your heart and shut your hand against your needy kinsman. Rather, you must open your hand and lend whatever is sufficient… Give readily and have no regrets when you do so, for in return the Lord your God will bless you in all your efforts and in all your undertakings. For there will never cease to be needy ones in your land.”
While providing financial assistance fulfills the letter of the law, true charity embodies a spirit of genuine care and empathy. This teaches us that the practice of tzedakah is not, as we may incorrectly think, just about alleviating immediate need, but it is also about our own personal growth and cultivating our sense of compassion. It is about helping us find the silver linings in life, not simply giving away silver.
Developing qualities such as empathy, social awareness, and kindness are healthy pursuits in themselves. Often, these attributes provide more profound support than financial aid alone. As our sages wisely observed, “Better to show a person a friendly face than to give them milk to drink.” While a smile cannot solve economic hardship, it offers emotional strength to face adversity. Why? Because a smile communicates understanding and solidarity—sometimes the very things a person in need requires most.
By engaging in tzedakah with our hearts as well as our hands, we not only help others but also transform ourselves in profoundly healthy ways. A “hardened heart,” is not a healthy heart. We become more attuned to the needs of those around us, more grateful for our own blessings, and more connected to our community and to the divine purpose of making the world a better place. In practicing tzedakah in its fullest sense, we fulfill not just a commandment, but a fundamental aspect of our humanity and our relationship with Hashem.*
Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D., prepares a weekly D’var Torah for Young Israel of San Diego, where he and his family are members. They are also active members of Congregation Adat Yeshurun.
You elucidate Parsha Re’eh.