To See or not to See – Re’ei
ראה אנכי נתן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה (דברים יא, כו).
The opening line of this week’s parsha seemingly begins with a grammatical error. The Mefarshim are quick to point this out. The first passuk begins in the singular ראה and then switches to the plural לפניכם. It should either be ראו אנכי נתן לפניכם היום (both plural) or ראה אנכי נתן לפניך היום (both singular).
Obviously the Torah does not deviate from the accepted grammar, unless there is a very good reason and to teach us something.
Shabbat parshat Re’ei always falls out either the week before Rosh Chodesh Elul (like this year), or on Rosh Chodesh Elul itself. The name of the parsha hints to this. The ראשי תיבות of the word ראה are אש השנהר and אלול. Some Mefarshim say ראה stands for ראש חודש אלול השבוע. In the first three psukim in the parsha the word היום is mentioned three times, according to the Mefarshim, referring to the two days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
While these are all a nice play on words, there is a much deeper lesson to learn from why the Torah used the word ראה and it all has to do with the sense of sight, the number three, Rosh Hashana and Lechem Hapanim.
Chazal in the Midrash compare the ארבעת המינים on Sukkot to parts of the body. The etrog is likened to the heart, the lulav to the spine, the arava to the mouth and the hadas to the eyes. The first three make logical mathematical sense. A person has one heart (1 etrog), one spine (1 lulav), two lips in the mouth (2 aravot). The eyes resembling the hadas, however is problematic. There are 3 hadasim and each hadas has multiple clusters of three leaves each. Does a person have three eyes or two eyes?
This week’s parsha opens with the word ראה (see) to teach us a little more about the essence of sight. The word ראה is ראשי תיבות for the three levels that make up sight –
The first level, ראייה, refers to the receptor organ of sight – the eyes. The eyes can be likened to cameras joined by a cable to a computer. The function of the eyes is to receive visual data and send it to the brain. As long as the eyes are open they are constantly “streaming” data to the brain. There is no processing done on this level, it is just raw data in a constant stream, with no meaning.
The second level, אבחנה, detection (להבחין) is the preliminary level of processing in the brain. It is a kind of a filter that sifts the incoming data stream and highlights and calls attention to interesting parts and discards the rest. For example, a close circuit camera focused on a door 24/7 repeatedly sends the same visual data to the computer, until someone enters/leaves. At this stage it is detected that there is a change in the stream and it is flagged for further attention. If the brain had to constantly process the entire incessant stream of data with the same advanced level of interpretation, it would overload. (Incidentally some theorize that this is what autism is – the inability to filter and categorize data input – of all the senses, not just sight – deluging the brain and overloading it).
The third and final stage, הבנה, is the final stage of processing in the brain – understanding/interpretation. When the second (detection) level flags a segment of the data stream for further attention, the brain devotes additional resources to interpreting and understanding it. The brain compares the data stream to similar images in the memory and if it finds a match, provides a comparative interpretation. If no previous memory image matches, the new image is filed in memory for future use. Continuing the above camera/computer analogy, the result would be the understanding that “Chaim had just entered the room”.
Chazal understood that there is more to sight than just the two eyes, there is the third component – the “inner” eye (the brain) that understands (or not) what the two eyes are seeing. For example in the Gemara (Tamid 32a) it says איזהו חכם הרואה את הנולד. A wise person is someone who goes beyond simple seeing with his two eyes, to understanding what he sees. Or as Shlomo Hamelech put it (Kohelet 2,14) החכם עיניו בראשו, alluding to the role of the “head”, the brain in processing sight and acquiring wisdom.
HaRav Simcha Zissel Ziv Broida z”l, also known as the Sabba of Kelm, in his sefer חכמה ומוסר says that the ability of “visualization” is what distinguishes a tzaddik from a rasha. A tzaddik has the ability to transcend what his eyes simply see and visualize higher, spiritual concepts. A rasha only sees what his eyes see and denies the existence of anything more transcendental (see my shiur on parshat Vayikra תשפ"א - https://www.showbreadinstitute.org/vayikra2021 ). Chazal call a hadas with only two leaves a הדס שוטה.
After that introduction we can now start the shiur.
In Pirkei Avot (2,1) it says –
רַבִּי אוֹמֵר: ........ וְהִסְתַּכֵּל בִּשְׁלשָׁה דְּבָרִים וְאִי אַתָּה בָּא לִידֵי עֲבֵרָה: 1) דַּע מַה לְּמַעְלָה מִמְּךָ, 2) עַיִן רוֹאָה וְאֹזֶן שׁוֹמַעַת, 3) וְכָל מַעֲשֶׂיךָ בַּסֵּפֶר נִכְתָּבִין.
Rebi Yehuda Hanasi is giving us a triple-powered formula for steering clear of sin, which is of great interest to us as Elul approaches and we are fully focused on doing tshuva and steering clear of sin. Rebi uses the word הסתכל (look), but in fact is implying the same as the above, not simply to look with your eyes, but also with your third “inner” eye, your שכל.
To fully understand what Rebi is trying to teach us we first need to examine a very interesting concept brought by HaRav Yosef Albo. In his book ספר העיקרים (מאמר א, פרק ד) he analyses the 13 principles of faith of the Rambam, the 13 verses of אני מאמין that Ashkenazim say each morning after tfilat shacharit. He says that the 13 principles can in fact be categorized according to three “main headings” -
If you go down the list of the thirteen (a good exercise for Shabbat) you will see that each fits into one of these three main categories.
HaRav Yosef Albo continues that this in fact is how the tfilot of Rosh Hashana are structured. First you have מלכיות which belongs to the first category 'מציאות ה. Next you have זכרונות which belong to the second category /השגחה פרטיתשכר ועונש. Finally you have שופרות which belong to the third category תורה מן השמים.
HaRav Elyashiv takes this concept one step further and applies it to the שלושת הרגלים where it says (in our parsha) –
שלוש פעמים בשנה יראה כל זכורך את פני ה' א-לקיך במקום אשר יבחר (דברים טז, טז).
Pesach belongs to the category of 'מציאות ה where Am Yisrael witnessed the 10 plagues, crossing of the Red Sea etc. Shavuot belongs to the category of תורה מן השמים when we received the Torah. Sukkot belongs to the category of השגחה פרטית, when we entrust our lives to HKB”H as we move out of our homes and into the Sukkah.
The sefer שם משמואל says that in fact this is what Bilam was trying to undermine in Am Yisrael, hinted at when the donkey said - כִּי הִכִּיתַנִי זֶה שָׁלֹשׁ רְגָלִים (במדבר כב, כח). Bilam was trying to destroy the basic principles of faith on which Am Yisrael is based.
Now let’s re-examine the triple formula of Rebi in Pirkei Avot for steering clear of sin.
1. דַּע מַה לְּמַעְלָה מִמְּךָ which belongs to the category of מציאות ה'.
2. עַיִן רוֹאָה וְאֹזֶן שׁוֹמַעַת which belongs to the category of שכר ועונש.
3. וְכָל מַעֲשֶׂיךָ בַּסֵּפֶר נִכְתָּבִין which belongs to the category of תורה מן השמים.
A similar principle appears in my seferמאיר פנים (chap. 13, pg. 121) in connection with the Korban Lechem Hapanim, consisting of three components, the Shulchan, the Lechem Hapanim and the Levonah. According to Chazal the Shulchan is all about מלכות – a table fit for a king, with a crown around it. This corresponds to the מלכיות part of the tfila on Rosh Hashana. The Levonah, mentioned in the passuk - וְנָתַתָּ עַל הַמַּעֲרֶכֶת לְבֹנָה זַכָּה וְהָיְתָה לַלֶּחֶם לְאַזְכָּרָה corresponds to זכרונות. The Lechem Hapanim which represent the Torah and were curved like a shofar, correspond to שופרות.
What does the Korban Lechem Hapanim have to do with Rosh Hashana?
One of the central themes of the Korban Lechem Hapanim is that it was a conduit for wealth and parnasa. True wealth is life, your own and your offspring, but it also includes financial wealth, parnasa. On Rosh Hashana we stand in judgment before HKB”H. מי יחיה ומי ימות, מי יעני ומי יעשר.
The Korban Lechem Hapanim similarly embodies the three fundamental principles of faith described above in ספר העיקרים.
As we approach Rosh Chodesh Elul next week, we shift our mindset. We move out of a “holiday” mindset into a “high-holiday” mindset.
This year will be more challenging in this regard. Usually Rosh Chodesh Elul coincides with the beginning of September, the end of the summer vacation and back to “real life” - work, normal routine. This year, Elul falls slap bang in the middle of our summer vacation and when the vacation ends (Sep 1), we have only 6 days until Rosh Hashana, only six days to concentrate more on tshuva and less on sunbathing. So how do we overcome that and enter Rosh Hashana prepared?
Actually, this year we have a unique opportunity to prepare for Rosh Hashana the proper way. During Rosh Chodesh Elul the Mefarshim say המלך בשדה – that HKB”H is in the field, He is closer in proximity and receptiveness to us than any other time in the year. With most of us still on vacation for most of Elul, we are also in a sense בשדה – we are away from our regular frameworks and schedules. What a unique opportunity to re-establish our bond with HKB”H while closely communing with and marveling over the wonders of His creation, being makpid, despite our being on vacation to adhere to all the mitzvot and obligations we normally do. Remember – we are on vacation from work, not from the Torah! If we can overcome our יצר הרע and continue to daven three times a day at the right times, to be makpid with birkat hamazon, to only visit appropriate places, etc. what better way is there to prove our devotion to HKB”H? It is a real test in the field and not a theoretical test in the comfort of our regular framework. If we can pass with flying colors, that is a true preparation for Rosh Hashana.
So enjoy your vacation, replenish your כוחות for the upcoming year, while at the same time proving that we can live Torah, even when put to the test. Let us look around us with our “inner” eye, the eye of the Torah and take even the most mundane and elevate it into something kadosh, thereby being a kiddush Hashem to all those around us.
