Shabbat Re’eh – Torah for the 21st Century by Rabbi Ariel Stone

Shabbat Re’eh: What Happens When You Look

Parashat Re’eh is named for our ability to see and understand: רְאֵה, אָנֹכִי נֹתֵן לִפְנֵיכֶם–הַיּוֹם: בְּרָכָה, וּקְלָלָה – “see, I place before you today blessing and curse.” (Deut. 11.26). Blessing, we are told, follows the choice to comply (literally, “listen”); curse, if we do not. It seems so very simple and direct an expectation: look, and understand; hear,Continue reading “Shabbat Re’eh: What Happens When You Look”

Shabbat Re’eh: Seeing, Iran and Others

Our parashat hashavua, called Re’eh, urges us, “look!”. The Torah relates that Moshe our leader is exhorting our ancestors to take a moment to stop and really see in a deeper sense. That is, he is telling us to realize something essential about our ability to understand the implications of what we see – and howContinue reading “Shabbat Re’eh: Seeing, Iran and Others”