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Home -> 5776 -> Re'eh

בנים אתם לד' אלקיכם לא תתגודדו ולא תשימו קרחה בין עיניכם למת

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Re'eh, 5776

You are children to Hashem, your G-d, do not mutilate yourselves and do not make a bald patch between your eyes for the dead. (14:1)

The Baalei Tosfos comment, “You are children to Hashem, your G-d; therefore, if your father of flesh and blood dies, do not mutilate yourselves, for you are not orphans, since you have a living father.” Every Jew should sense such a closeness with Hashem. Quoting this commentary, a gadol wrote the following to a woman who had sustained the tragic loss of her husband: “True, you and your children have suffered a terrible blow, but, at the same time, you have received a Redeemer Who is closer to you than any other (being that she is now a widow and…

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Home -> 5775 -> Re'eh

ראה אנכי נתן לפניכם היום

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Re'eh, 5775

See, I present before you today. (11:26)

The pasuk begins with re’eh, see, which is lashon yachid, singular, as if Moshe Rabbeinu were speaking to an individual person. It concludes, however, lifneichem, before you, which is lashon rabim, plural. Why is there an inconsistency within the pasuk? Apparently, the Torah is according distinction to the individual who is part of the community. All too often, the individual becomes lost within the large scope of a multitude of people. He becomes a number, a blip, a faceless statistic; his name does not matter; who he is carries no weight, since he is assimilated into the group. While it…

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Home -> 5775 -> Re'eh

ראה אנכי נתן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Re'eh, 5775

See, I present before you today, a blessing and a curse. (11:26)

Moshe Rabbeinu does not say a blessing or a curse; rather, he informs Klal Yisrael of the blessing and the curse that he presents before them. Apparently, everything in life – every gift – contains within it both blessing and curse. Let us take Torah for example. Clearly, it is the greatest blessing, without which we could not survive in the spiritually-hostile environment which surrounds us. If, however, a person does not approach the Torah properly, if he does not apply seichal, common sense, to understand what is being asked of him, the Torah becomes his poison. In the Talmud…

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Home -> 5775 -> Re'eh

כי יסיתך אחיך... בסתר לאמר נלכה ונעבדה אלהים אחרים... לא תאבה לו ולא תשמע אליו ולא תחוס עינך עליו ולא תחמול ולא תכסה עליו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Re'eh, 5775

If your brother will entice you… secretly saying, “Let us go and worship the gods of others…” You shall not accede to him and not hearken to him; you shall not take pity on him; you shall not be compassionate to him nor conceal him. (13:7,9)

The punishment meted out to the meisis, enticer, is very serious and finds no match in the Torah. The fact that the meisis is treated so badly is a clear indication of the egregious nature of his sin. Five negative commandments concerning how we should act with the meisis are derived from the Torah’s unusual directives concerning our relationship with this evil man: we may neither accede to him, nor hearken to him; we may neither have pity on him; nor show any compassion towards him; we may not conceal him. He has committed a grave sin by attempting to…

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Home -> 5775 -> Re'eh

בנים אתם לד' אלקיכם... לא תתגודדו ולא תשימו קרחה בין עניכם למת כי עם קדוש אתה לד' אלקיך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Re'eh, 5775

You are children to Hashem, Your G-d – you shall not cut yourselves and you shall not make a bald spot between your eyes for a dead person. For you are a holy people to Hashem, Your G-d. (14:1,2)

The Torah appears to be giving us a straightforward mandate: do not grieve excessively. When someone dies, his relatives should not mutilate themselves out of grief. As a holy people we do not conduct ourselves in such a manner. Chazal, however, see a different meaning for Lo sisgodedu. The sisgodedu is derived from agudah, group/gathering of people. They interpret Lo sisgodedu as, “Do not form factions.” Hence, we learn that forming factions is prohibited. This plays itself out practically when two batei din, courts of law, are in one town; one rules in accordance with the decisions rendered by Bais…

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Home -> 5775 -> Re'eh

כי יהיה בך אביון... לא תאמץ את לבבך ולא תקפוץ... כי פתוח תפתח את ידך לו... פתח תפתח את ידך לאחיך ועניך ולאבינך בארץ

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Re'eh, 5775

If there shall be a destitute person among you… you shall not harden your heart or close your hand… rather you shall open your hand to him… you shall open your hand to your brother, to your poor, and to your destitute in your land. (15:7,8,11)

The Gaon, zl, m’Vilna, posits that this pasuk is intimating the proper guidelines one must maintain with regard to giving tzedakah, charity. There is a marked difference between an open hand and one in which he bends over his fingers, thereby partially closing his hand. When the hand is open and the fingers spread out/apart, the difference in physical size between each finger is apparent. When the hand is bent, however, all of the fingers are even; they all look the same. Chazal teach that the mitzvah of tzedakah demands that a person must be reinstated to his original standing….

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Home -> 5774 -> Re'eh

כי יקום בקרבך נביא... ונתן אליך אות או מופת... ובא האות והמופת... לא תשמע אל דברי הנביא ההוא... כי מנסה ד' אלקיכם אתכם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Re'eh, 5774

If there should stand in your midst a prophet… and he will produce to you a sign or a wonder… and the sign or the wonder comes about… do not listen to the words of that prophet… for Hashem, your G-d, is testing you. (13:2,3,4)

The false prophet attempts to sway the nation away from Hashem, to seduce the people  to worship idols, by offering “proof” that he is the “real thing” and that his message is Heaven sent. He produces a miracle, a wonder that is undeniable, that gets the people thinking: “Is it possible? Could he be for real?” Hashem instructs us not to listen to him, because he is part of a test to ascertain and confirm our nation’s true conviction. Do we truly believe in Hashem, or is it only a matter of convenience, something we do as long as there…

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Home -> 5774 -> Re'eh

ונתן לך רחמים ורחמך והרבך כאשר נשבע לאבתיך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Re'eh, 5774

And He will give you mercy and be merciful to you and multiply you, as He swore to your forefathers. (13:18)

When someone is charged with carrying out an execution, it can have a strong negative effect on his sensitivities. After all, it means taking the life of another human being. This emotion is exacerbated when it involves the mass execution of an entire Jewish city of men, women, children — even livestock. Such action takes its toll on the most compassionate person, rendering him callous to suffering. Thus, Hashem promises the nation that the executioners, who carry out this most difficult punishment, will be infused with a Heavenly-sponsored dose of compassion to counteract the soulless nature of their work. Once…

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Home -> 5774 -> Re'eh

כי יהיה בך אביון... לא תאמץ את לבבך ולא תקפץ את ידך מאחיך האביון

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Re'eh, 5774

If there will be among you a needy man… you shall not make your heart unfeeling and not close up your hand to your brother, the needy man. (15:7)

Literally, the translation of this pasuk is: “You shall not do violence to your heart.” Horav S. R. Hirsch, zl, observes that the Torah is teaching us that Jews are, by nature, good-hearted and sensitive towards others. It is, therefore, assumed that if Jewish hearts are permitted to give free rein to their natural impulses, they will do good. On the other hand, the individual who does not act with feeling and consideration is selfish and calculating, going against his true-self. Jewish hands are also, by nature, open to the poor and are closed up only by unnatural selfishness. As…

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Home -> 5774 -> Re'eh

ראה אנכי נותן לפניכם... ברכה וקללה... את הברכה אשר תשמעו... והקללה אם לא תשמעו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Re'eh, 5774

See, I present before you… a blessing and a curse. The blessing: that you listen… and the curse if you do not listen. (11:26,27,28)

Parashas Re’eh opens with an enjoinment to “see” both blessing and curse. “Seeing” here means intellectual perception, since blessing and curse are not entities which can be observed by corporeal eyes. It requires intelligence to comprehend, distinguish and acknowledge that, indeed, those who are Torah observant Jews are blessed, fulfilled, feel a sense of achievement and spiritual growth. It takes a fool to disregard and purposely overlook the vacuousness and almost daily crises that plagues those who have chosen a lifestyle that caters to the fulfillment of materialistic and physical needs and desires. One who pursues the pleasures of the…

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