Parshat Re'eh: Living Before Hashem

How Identity Shapes the Life of Blessing

Introduction

Every people develops a distinctive pattern of life. Over time, its habits, values, customs, and institutions shape not only what people do, but how they understand themselves and the world around them. These patterns become so familiar that they seem almost instinctive. Yet they do not arise on their own. The way a people lives always grows out of how it understands who it is.

Throughout history, nations have preserved that understanding not through ideas alone but through the practices that embodied it. Their laws, festivals, customs, and institutions became visible expressions of who they believed themselves to be. When that understanding weakened, the practices often remained, but they gradually became detached from the purpose that had first given them meaning.

The Torah presents Israel in precisely this way. Its mitzvot are not simply a collection of Divine commands imposed upon an otherwise ordinary nation. They belong to a people whose way of life reflects a deeper reality. The commandments do not stand alone. They are rooted in that reality, receiving from it both their meaning and their coherence. Throughout his final address, Moshe patiently unfolds what that reality is.

That challenge did not end with the generation preparing to enter Eretz Yisrael. Every generation inherits the Torah's commandments, but each must rediscover the reality they are meant to express. The enduring question is therefore not only whether we keep the mitzvot, but whether we understand the people they are shaping us to become. Only then do the commandments cease to feel like obligations and become the joyful expression of a life lived before Hashem.

I. Choosing the Life of Blessing

Moshe opens Parshat Re'eh with a declaration that frames everything that follows: "רְאֵה אָנֹכִי נֹתֵן לִפְנֵיכֶם הַיּוֹם בְּרָכָה וּקְלָלָה" (דברים יא:כו). Standing on the threshold of Eretz Yisrael, the Jewish people are told that two paths lie before them. One leads to blessing and the other to curse. The question is not whether Israel desires blessing, but what kind of life leads toward it.

The Torah's initial answer appears straightforward: "אֶת הַבְּרָכָה אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶל מִצְוֹת ה' אֱלֹקֵיכֶם... וְהַקְּלָלָה אִם לֹא תִשְׁמְעוּ" (יא:כז–כח). Blessing follows obedience, while curse follows turning aside from Hashem's commandments. Moshe, however, does not stop there. He continues with the Beit HaMikdash, idolatry, kashrut, tithes, charity, the remission of debts, and the festivals. The opening declaration is no longer simply introducing a choice. It is preparing the reader to understand what the life of blessing actually looks like.

The Ramban explains that blessing and curse are the natural consequences of Israel's covenant with Hashem. They are not rewards and punishments imposed from without, but the fruit of either remaining faithful to that covenant or turning away from it. As Israel prepares to enter the Land, Moshe is doing more than presenting a body of laws. He is describing a way of life rooted in the covenant that binds the nation to Hashem.

The Sforno draws attention to a single word that quietly broadens the discussion: "הַיּוֹם." The choice between blessing and curse is not confined to the moment of entering the Land. It is renewed every day. The decisions that shape a people are rarely dramatic. More often, they are woven into the repeated choices of daily life until they become second nature. Those daily choices now become the substance of the parsha.

II. A Life Oriented Toward Hashem

Moshe begins by speaking about the place where Israel will worship. "כִּי אִם אֶל הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר ה' אֱלֹקֵיכֶם... לְשִׁכְנוֹ תִדְרְשׁוּ וּבָאתָ שָׁמָּה" (דברים יב:ה). Before describing the many responsibilities that will shape Israel's life in the Land, he first directs the nation's attention to the place Hashem Himself will choose.

The contrast with the surrounding nations is immediate. Their places of worship reflected human preference. Altars were built wherever people desired and according to whatever practices seemed right in their own eyes. Israel is commanded otherwise: "לֹא תַעֲשׂוּן כֵּן לַה' אֱלֹקֵיכֶם" (יב:ד). The defining question is no longer, Where shall we worship? but, Where has Hashem chosen to place His Name? The first lesson of blessing is to begin with Hashem's choice before asserting our own.

Rashi explains that "לְשִׁכְנוֹ תִדְרְשׁוּ" is itself a command—to seek out the place where Hashem causes His Presence to dwell. Israel is not to wait passively but to direct its longing toward that place. Ramban develops the same idea by emphasizing that the uniqueness of the Mikdash lies precisely in the fact that it is Hashem's chosen dwelling among His people. The centralization of worship therefore expresses something deeper than the rejection of idolatry. It teaches Israel to measure its life by the place Hashem has chosen rather than by the places it would choose for itself.

The place Hashem chooses becomes far more than the location of the Beit HaMikdash. It becomes the spiritual center of the nation, drawing Israel away from a life shaped by personal preference and orienting it toward the will of Hashem.

III. The Heart of the Covenant

In the midst of the parsha, Moshe declares, "בָּנִים אַתֶּם לַה' אֱלֹקֵיכֶם... כִּי עַם קָדוֹשׁ אַתָּה לַה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ, וּבְךָ בָּחַר ה' לִהְיוֹת לוֹ לְעַם סְגֻלָּה" (דברים יד:א–ב). These verses introduce the prohibition against excessive mourning, yet they reach far beyond the laws that follow. Until this point, Moshe has described the life Israel is called to live. Here, for the first time, he reveals the foundation upon which that life rests.

The language Moshe chooses is as significant as the idea itself. He does not describe Israel as servants bound to their Master or subjects loyal to their King. He speaks of children. A servant obeys because duty requires it. A child belongs before anything is required of him. By choosing the language of family, Moshe teaches that Israel's distinctiveness does not begin with the commandments themselves. It begins with the One to Whom they belong.

The Ramban explains that because Israel are Hashem's children, they are commanded not to mourn as the surrounding nations mourn. Their grief is no less real, but it is held within a relationship that even death cannot sever. The prohibition reflects more than the manner in which mourning is expressed. It reflects a different understanding of life itself, one shaped by the enduring bond between Hashem and His people.

The Sforno develops the second half of the verse, "כִּי עַם קָדוֹשׁ אַתָּה לַה'", by explaining that Israel's holiness is not an achievement they have earned but a calling they have received. Hashem has chosen them as His treasured people, and their task is to live in a manner worthy of that calling. Holiness is not the means by which Israel becomes Hashem's child. It is the life that naturally flows from already belonging to Him.

With these words, the commandments of the parsha are heard differently. Worship, holiness, generosity, and joy become expressions of a relationship already established. Israel does not live differently in order to become Hashem's children. Israel lives differently because it already is.

IV. Holiness in the Ordinary

Having declared, "בנים אתם לה' אלקיכם," Moshe immediately turns to the ordinary experiences of daily life. The life of Hashem's children is learned as much around the table as it is in the Beit HaMikdash.

The Torah teaches this through the mitzvah of מעשר שני. Moshe commands, "וְאָכַלְתָּ לִפְנֵי ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ... לְמַעַן תִּלְמַד לְיִרְאָה אֶת ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ כָּל הַיָּמִים" (דברים יד:כג). The verse does not say that prayer or sacrifice will teach יראת שמים, but that eating before Hashem will do so. One of the simplest acts of human life becomes the setting in which reverence is cultivated.

The Ramban explains that bringing one's produce to the place Hashem has chosen reminds the farmer that the harvest is never solely the product of human effort. Every meal becomes an acknowledgment that the blessing of the land comes from Hashem. Gratitude is formed not through occasional moments of inspiration but through the repeated discipline of remembering the true Source of one's sustenance.

This is one of the Torah's deepest educational principles. The heart is shaped through small acts repeated with intention. Gratitude is cultivated over a lifetime of remembering. Around the family table, remembrance gradually becomes habit, and habit becomes the soil in which holiness grows.

V. A Family That Cares for One Another

Moshe now turns to the life Israel shares with one another. "כִּי יִהְיֶה בְךָ אֶבְיוֹן... לֹא תְאַמֵּץ אֶת לְבָבְךָ וְלֹא תִקְפֹּץ אֶת יָדְךָ מֵאָחִיךָ הָאֶבְיוֹן. כִּי פָתֹחַ תִּפְתַּח אֶת יָדְךָ לוֹ..." (דברים טו:ז–ח). Before commanding Israel to give, the Torah first identifies the one who stands before them. The poor person is not introduced simply as someone in need, but as "אָחִיךָ"—your brother. Relationship precedes responsibility.

The Rambam explains that the highest form of tzedakah is helping another person regain independence. The goal is not simply to provide assistance but to restore dignity. Giving restores dignity because it enables another person to stand again within the community.

The Or HaChaim reflects on the Torah's repeated expression, "פָּתֹחַ תִּפְתַּח." The repetition suggests that generosity begins long before the hand opens. It begins with the heart. A person may give reluctantly and still fulfill the technical requirement of the mitzvah, yet the Torah calls for something deeper: a heart that remains open to another person's need.

These mitzvot reveal that the blessings Israel receives are never meant to end with the individual. They are entrusted to a people so that they may become a blessing to one another. As Hashem continually provides for His people, His people are called to reflect that same generosity within the covenantal community, making His kindness visible through their own lives.

VI. Joy in the Presence of Hashem

Moshe concludes with the festivals. Three times each year, the entire nation is commanded to ascend to the place Hashem has chosen, where "וְשָׂמַחְתָּ לִפְנֵי ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ" (דברים טז:יא). A few verses later, the invitation is repeated in a slightly different form: "שָׁלֹשׁ פְּעָמִים בַּשָּׁנָה יֵרָאֶה כָּל זְכוּרְךָ אֶת פְּנֵי ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ" (טז:טז). The nation now stands together before Hashem, rejoicing in His presence.

The Ramban explains that the festivals gather all of Israel before Hashem in gratitude for His continual kindness. They mark the harvests, the changing seasons, and the countless blessings through which He sustains His people. Joy grows out of gratitude. A people that has learned to recognize Hashem's hand throughout the ordinary rhythms of life naturally gathers to rejoice before Him.

The Sforno adds that rejoicing לִפְנֵי ה' transforms celebration itself into עבודת ה'. Eating, feasting, and celebrating are no longer directed simply toward personal enjoyment. They become acts of Divine service because they are experienced consciously in Hashem's presence. Celebration itself becomes an expression of covenantal life.

Here, the many strands of the parsha come together. The produce of the Land is enjoyed before Hashem. The generosity that has shaped the covenantal community makes room for the לוי, the גר, the יתום, and the אלמנה to rejoice alongside everyone else. Gathered together before Hashem, Israel rejoices in the blessings He has given and in the privilege of standing together in His presence.

Parenting Reflection

When a teenager begins to drift, parents naturally become preoccupied with what has changed. Conversations revolve around behavior, school, friendships, emotional health, or the next difficult decision that must be made. Little by little, the circumstances begin to occupy so much of our attention that they can overshadow the child standing before us.

Parshat Re'eh gently restores our perspective. Before anything else, our son or daughter is our child. That relationship is not built upon success, agreement, or the direction life happens to be taking at the moment. It is the foundation from which every conversation, every boundary, every disappointment, and every hope must begin.

Holding on to that truth changes the way we parent. We still guide, we still establish boundaries, and we still make difficult decisions when they are necessary. Those responsibilities remain. They simply take their place within a relationship that does not need to be earned again each day.

Children have always needed wisdom, patience, consistency, and love from their parents. That does not change when the road becomes uncertain. Above all, they need to know that their place within the family has never been placed in question. No circumstance has the power to undo that relationship, nor does it change whose child they are.

Conclusion

As Parshat Re'eh unfolds, Moshe's attention increasingly rests upon the life Israel will build in the Land. He speaks about the table, the harvest, the poor, the festivals, and the countless responsibilities that will fill the nation's days. It is a quiet transition, especially within Sefer Devarim. The covenant is no longer encountered only in moments of instruction. It gradually comes to embrace the ordinary rhythms of life itself.

Within these mitzvot, another expression begins to accompany the nation. Israel eats "לִפְנֵי ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ," rejoices "לִפְנֵי ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ," and appears "אֶת פְּנֵי ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ." The repetition is subtle, yet it gradually reshapes the way the parsha is heard. The relationship between Hashem and His people is no longer spoken of only in principle. It is encountered in the way they live.

At the heart of the parsha stands the declaration, "בָּנִים אַתֶּם לַה' אֱלֹקֵיכֶם." Those words tell Israel who they are. The repeated language of לִפְנֵי ה' reveals the life that grows from that identity. The relationship Moshe declares gradually becomes the relationship Israel learns to live.

There is something especially fitting about reading these words as the month of Elul approaches. Before the Torah calls Israel to moments of greater devotion, it teaches them how to live before Hashem in the ordinary moments of life. The table, the open hand, the gathering of the community, and the festivals all become places where the child of Hashem learns, little by little, to live before his Father.

Have a Wonderful Shabbos!!!

Yaakov Lazar