On seeing with our eyes, hands and minds open wide

Re'eh

Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17

Isaiah 54:11-55:5

I Samuel 20:18, 42

What kind of sight is Torah portion Re'eh referring to when it commands, "See, this day I set before you blessing and curse: blessing if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I enjoin upon you this day; and curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn away from the path which I enjoin upon you this day and follow other gods, who you have not experienced" (Deuteronomy 11:26)? Clearly the author of the text is referring not simply to a passive observation, but rather to insight -- a seeing that requires action, a pursuit that is born of a clear understanding of the choices offered.

Sight of this active variety is common in biblical texts. For example, when Hagar, out of water and with no way out of the blistering desert heat, resigned herself to the death of her infant Ishmael, the text states, "Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water" (Genesis 21:19).

When Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac, "his eye fell upon a ram, caught in the thicket by its horns" (Genesis 22:13). "And because of the insight beyond plain seeing, the text declares that "Abraham named that site Adonai-yireh, whence the present saying, 'On the mount of the Lord there is vision'" (Genesis 22:14).

When, after many years of separation, Jacob and Esau were reunited, Jacob said to Esau: "Seeing your face is like seeing the face of God" (Genesis 33:10). Clearly, these instances of seeing are not illustrations of ordinary sight; they occasion insight, seeing a purpose greater than the obvious one, a divine purpose as well as an ability to see deeply into the soul of another human being.

In Re'eh, it was the hope of the biblical author that the members of his audience would not look upon the poor and simply look through them or disregard them. The text expresses the expectation that the observer truly sees the condition of the poor and the needs that are so pressing:

"If there is a needy person among you, one of your kinsmen in any of your settlements in the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not harden your heart and nor shut your hand against your needy kinsman. Rather, you must surely open your hand and lend him sufficient for whatever he needs...You must surely give him and have no regrets when you do so...For there will never cease to be needy ones in your land..."(Deuteronomy 15:7-11).

Several words in the Hebrew text are quite fascinating. The purposeful doubling of the verbs "to open," patoach teeftach, and "to give," natone teetayn is done for emphasis, to strengthen the case for giving generously with an open hand, and not reluctantly with a closed fist. It is for this reason that while there are hundreds of blessing that can be recited over most human activity, there is no brachah for giving tzedakah because giving is so important that it may not be interrupted or delayed, even by taking time to recite a blessing. Tzedakah is an intrinsic blessing in and of itself.

Jewish rabbinic literature understood that there are those who do not want to give or who give reluctantly. Rab Shmuel once remarked that givers can be categorized into three types: a flint, a sponge and a honeycomb. To get anything out of a flint, you must strike it with force; a sponge must be squeezed to yield its liquid -- the more you squeeze the more you get; but the honeycomb overflows with its own sweetness and needs no coaxing.

Thus, it should come as no surprise that the rabbis were not kind to those who did not utilize open eyes to see open hands as the Talmud states, "If a person closes his eyes to avoid giving charity, it is as if he had committed idolatry" (Ketubot 68a). Conversely, Isaiah reminds the biblical reader that great reward awaits those who aid individuals who hunger for their daily bread: "If you draw out your soul to the hungry, and revive those in misery, then light shall dawn for you in darkness, and your most gloomy hours shall be as bright as the noonday" (Isaiah 58:10).

In a world in which so many walk around with eyes that do not see and hearts that do not feel, Re'eh teaches that God waits for people to see with more than just eyes, but also with hearts and minds.