QUESTIONS AND COMMENTARY ON PARASHAT RE'EH
1. Why does this week's Torah portion begin with the
command re'eh "to see?"
Joshua Brumbach
This week's Torah portion begins with a command. The
very first word, re'eh, after which
we get the name for this week's portion, is conjugated in an imperative form.
Meaning that it is a command to do, to pay attention to, and "to see to" all
the instructions God is setting forth. All of Deuteronomy is a repetition of
the entire Torah, and this week's portion is an even further condensed
repetition. Within Parashat Re'eh are found the majority of the biblical commands. As
such, the opening verse of the portion speaks of the importance of re'eh, "seeing" to all that God requires
of us.
Throughout the entire biblical text, God speaks of the
importance of having vision. Vision is deemed so important in the Bible that
there are multiple references to its importance and even different Hebrew words
for it. Proverbs 29:18 states "Without a prophetic vision, the people throw off
all restraint; but he who keeps Torah is happy." The entire biblical text is an
expression of the blessings that accompany those who follow in God's ways, and
the implications for those who do not follow God's commands.
That which God desires from us is relationship.
According to the Jewish philosopher Abraham Joshua Heschel, since creation, God
has been in pursuit of that relationship with us. Part of that relationship is understanding
the role we play in protecting that relationship. For every relationship,
whether familial, romantic, or professional, entails that we establish
boundaries and safeguards to maintain and mature those connections. We are all
too familiar when those boundaries are violated, and the consequences that
result when someone oversteps their relational position.
In the same way the mitzvot
serve as a boundary in our relation to God. When we violate the boundaries of
our relationship, and either put another love ahead of us, introduce practices
that are offensive, or invest in that which has no value, we weaken our
relationship to God. We strengthen our relationship by observing those
safeguards, and "seeing" to invest in that which will promote and mature our
relationship instead of violating it.
When we invest in our relationship with God, and draw
closer in our spiritual paths by observing that which the Torah puts forth, we
are choosing to see spiritually. Parashat
Re'eh gives us the keys to establishing those boundaries, the steps in
centering our entire lives around our relationship with God. This week's
portion guides us through the observance of kashrut,
the dietary laws, the rules for offering gifts (tithes, offerings, and
sacrifices), and for the mo'edim, the
prescribed set times when God chooses to meet with us. The appointed times of
the shalosh regalim, the three pilgrimage festivals when we are to appear
before God - Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot - are opportunities God gives us to pursue
our relationship with him.
Why does this week's Torah portion begin with the
command re'eh "to see?" Because God
wants us to see spiritually in order to see physically that which he commands.
As the portion implores us, we have a choice:
I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse - the
blessing, if you listen to the mitzvot
of the LORD that I am giving you today; and the curse, if you don't listen to
the mitzvot of the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 11: 26-27
Chose the path which leads to blessing, and avoid the
path which leads to a curse. May we all be blessed to merit a greater blessing
in this life and in the world to come. May God see fit to cause our
relationships with him to become deeper, and may we, through our blessed
Messiah Yeshua, have the ability to greater follow in his footsteps, and
protect the boundaries of our relationship with our Creator.
2. Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your
fields produce each year. Deuteronomy 14:22
If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of
the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be
hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him
whatever he needs. 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 your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the LORD
against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to him and do
so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless
you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always
be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward
your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land. Deuteronomy 15:7-11
What amount was Israel supposed to tithe? How much
are we responsible to tithe? Is their any limit on this amount? What is the
connection between tithing and tzedaka
(charity to the poor)? What should our attitude be in regard to giving? How is
this passage connected to Matthew 6:22-23?
Rabbi Jonathan
Kaplan
Traditional halakhic explanations of the tithes
described in Torah have articulated a system of three obligatory tithes.
Numbers 18:21-32 refers to the first tithe which consists of a tenth of one's
produce which is given to the Levites who then give a tithe of their receipts
to the priests. During the seven year sabbatical cycle, there are two
additional tithes. In the first, second, fourth, and fifth years, Israelites
are to make a second tithe of a tenth of the remaining ninety percent. This
tithe is to be set aside for their own use in sacred feasts or converted to
money to be used in Jerusalem
(Deuteronomy 14:21-27;
Leviticus 27:30-31). In the third and sixth years they are to take a third
tithe which is also known as the tithe for the poor (Deuteronomy 14:28-29).
Medieval commentators rightly inquire about the
relationship of this system of tithes to the preceding matter about kashrut. For instance Rashi (followed by Ibn Ezra and others) ponders,
"What is the reason this matter (the matter of the tithe) is beside this matter
(the matter of a kid being boiled in its mother's milk; Deuteronomy 14:21)?" Equally compelling is the
relationship of this section on the tithes to the following material on the
giving of charity to the poor. One way to articulate the flow of material in
this section is as follows:
14:22-27 The Second Tithe (Ma‘aser Sheni)
14:28-29 The Poor Person's Tithe (Ma‘aser 'Oni)
15:1-6 The
Release of Debts
15:7-8 Charity
In this schema the giving of regular tithes whether as a
dedicated gift to ourselves and to the poor leads to the radical economic
practice of canceling debts every seven years. Such regular cancellation of
debts does not do away with the problem of poverty but rather recognizes that
"the poor are always in the land."
Poverty is not a reality which society can escape but we can address it
head on. The practice of tithing
cultivates in us the awareness of others especially the poor. The command to
tithe to the poor in the third and sixth year leads us logically "to be
openhanded . . . to the poor and needy in your land" (Deuteronomy 15:7-8).
Yeshua reminds us that how we look upon our neighbors
reflects who we are as people. He states this Torah teaching
The eye is the lamp the body. So, if your eye is healthy,
your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole
body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great
is the darkness!
Matthew 6:22-23
Indeed how we look upon our neighbor or if we are
openhanded to the poor tells whether we are full of darkness or light.
Learning 
