This parashah is called re’eh, one of the seventy-two names (resh, aleph, hey) to meditate on if one is lost. It helps reconnect to the Divine, to Hashem. This is really how the parashah begins; it goes right to point. Moshe said “Re’eh”—“Behold,” or “See, I have set before you....” In other words, “See something!” What is it we are supposed to see? We are supposed to see more than the physical plane; we are supposed to see the spiritual meaning behind things. We are supposed to see the physical world in a spiritual context, and that makes all the difference in the world, because when we cannot see this, we cannot make the choices set before us. As Moshe said: “You can therefore see that I am placing before you both a blessing and a curse. The blessing [will come] if you obey the commandments of God your Lord, which I am prescribing to you today. The curse [will come] if you do not obey the commandments of God your Lord, and you go astray from the path that I am prescribing for you today, following other gods [which are money, power, ego, or literally other gods in place of God] to have a novel spiritual experience. When God your Lord brings you to the land which you are about to occupy, you must declare the blessing on Mount Gerizim, and the curse on Mount Ebal.” (Devarim 11:26–29) Rabbi Gabriel Cousens, MD Torah as a Guide to Enlightenment (Parsha Reeh)
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 01:55:02 +0000