Parashat Re'eh

August 6, 2021
28 Av 5781
Parashat Re'eh
Deuteronomy 11:26 - 16:17

Dear Friends,

As we approach the end of the year and rush headlong into the completion of the Torah reading cycle, it feels as though Moses is trying to impart everything he has learned over his long life to us. Parshat Re’eh has so much in it that resonates that it is hard to know what to look at first. Interestingly, Re’eh means see. 

At any given moment there is so much to see and to take in that we often do not know where to look first. This Torah portion is like that. With that commentary, I invite you to read it on your own and let me know what catches your attention. Is it the description of the three pilgrimage holidays? the rules surrounding Hebrew slaves and their release in the sixth year? another description of what can and cannot be eaten? the promise of a central place of worship in the land? or is it how we treat the poor among us?

Right now, the description of how we treat the poor among us catches my attention for a number of reasons. The language in the text refers to achim or ach -- brothers or brother. It asks us to align our thinking in a very particular way. It gets one out of a clannish mindset. It allows for thinking about ever widening circles of need and relationship. Although the text posits a time when there will be no poverty or need if we only do the right thing, it then goes on to be quite practical about human behavior and suggests that while perfection may be a goal, it is very likely unattainable.

Chapter 15 expresses the vision within the Book of Deuteronomy that those who are poor should not be taken advantage of. It expressly states that those in need of loans should not be refused and goes on to state that when an indentured servant has served his six years, he is not to leave empty handed, but rather to be given sheep and supplies. With this instruction, we get the sense that he is to be given enough to begin again (15:13-14).

This sense of communal responsibility and caring is one that allows communities to thrive and grow. The Torah knows that this responsibility is not easy, or automatic, so it reminds us over and over again that we are all one family. In today’s world, we need to take that even further.

As we live in a time where the earth itself is under assault, it is all the more important to find common ground where we can work together to solve the challenges that confront us.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Linda Shriner-Cahn