This week’s Parsha is at the heart of the Book of Deuteronomy. The Parsha is called Re’eh, meaning "See".
This week’s Parsha is at the heart of the Book of Deuteronomy. The Parsha is called Re’eh, meaning "See". It is an imperative addressed to each individual “See, I am giving you today a blessing and a curse…” as the people see before them the Land of Promise.
I’ve noted that it does not command “Listen,” or some other imperative. This can be understood as a particular imperative associated with one’s inner vision and the choices we make in life. We can make choices that give us and others blessings and we can make choices that harm us, personally, as well as harm others. Ironically a curse or an affliction can also provide opportunities for blessings.
This past week we find ourselves at a crossroads in our personal and collective lives. We are a nation that is struggling with its vision of America. We are a people that is struggling with its vision of Zion and Jewish peoplehood.
The energy of Re’eh, Seeing, was on display this week. On Monday, several hundred people, many clergy, came together in D.C., near the Capitol, in solidarity with the Poor Peoples Campaign to awaken America and her leaders to a moral vision of society. The Action had four demand: 1. End the filibuster, 2. Pass all provisions of the For the People Act, 3. Fully restore the 1965 Voting Rights Act and 4. Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hr. Some 200, mostly clergy, were arrested that afternoon blocking Constitution Avenue.
From Deuteronomy:
15:7 If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Ineffable your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. 8 Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need. 9 Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to God against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. 10 Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Ineffable your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.
Yesterday we learned that the CDC extended the ban on evictions of renters due to the pandemic by sixty days. This was a Re'eh moment.
We now are anxiously awaiting for the Congress to pass the Infrastructure Bill. We are hopeful.
Brachot,
Reb David