jacobs-angel by Phillip Ratner
Thus we become aware of the choices we make. We choose based on what we know. In its wisdom, the Torah reminds us that in life we have to make choices every moment, either with or without previous knowledge; and we learn from experience, by trial and error, true and false, right from wrong. As we mentioned in the beginning of the book “God as Love”, humans are empiricists by nature; we learn from the choices that we make, and that is how we achieve knowledge and wisdom.
When we conceive and experience the loving Essence of our Creator, we become aware that the best choices we make are the ones related to His ways and attributes, which are the blessing. That’s the whole point of the entire Hebrew holy scriptures, and it is also the point of Re’eh. We have to choose being and doing Love’s ways and attributes in order to cleave always to Him, and have complete awareness of our Oneness with Him. The curse is the consequence of our choice to live in the illusions and fantasies of the material world. Choosing the blessing implies eradicating completely what separates us from our Creator: “You shall utterly destroy from all the places where the nations, that you shall possess, worshipped their gods, upon the lofty mountains and upon the hills, and under every lush tree.” (12:2). This means that we have to clear all levels of our consciousness from negative traits and expressions. It is the war that we have to wage in order to conquer the Promised Land.
“Because you are a holy people to the Lord your G-d, and the Lord has chosen you to be His own treasure out of all peoples that are upon the face of the Earth.” (14:2). Once we achieve this awareness, we become the blessing of Divine Love, and all this starts when we make the choice between the blessing and the curse. The portion continues with Moses reminding us not to eat unclean animals, which also represent the lower aspects of consciousness: we must not bring into our consciousness anything that is not positive, uplifting, constructive and enhancing. Our mystic Sages say that all things in Creation contain sparks of Divinity, because all emanates from G-d, Love; and our duty is to reveal those sparks by sanctifying them. This process occurs when we bless the foods before and after eating them; and when we use anything around us, including stones, as the means to sanctify G-d’s Name. In their wisdom, our Sages teach that everything in Creation exists for the only purpose of glorifying G-d’s Name.
When we reveal Love concealed in the darkness of egotism and selfishness, we realize that Love is endlessly abundant, as the Light that does not diminish after it is shared with others. Then, our most rejoicing moment is when we share the abundance of Love with those waiting to reveal His presence in their lives: “If there be among you a needy man, one of your brethren, within any of your gates, in your land which the Lord your G-d gives you, you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your needy brother; but you shall surely open your hand to him, and shall surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he wanted.” (15:7-8). Love is our greatest need, and our greatest fulfillment. Everything we are and have come from the Creator and belong to the Creator, as the Psalmist reminds us: “For everything comes from You, and from Your own hand we give to You.” (I Chronicles 29:14).
The parshah ends with the verse: “Every man shall bring as much as he can afford, according to the blessing of the Lord your G-d, which He has given you.” (16:17). Our Sages ask: “Who is rich? One who is satisfied with his lot.” (Pirkei Avot 4:1), and some say that the “lot” is not necessarily what we are or have but our individual relationship with G-d, Love. The more we have His Love, the more we are connected to Him; the more we love, the more we reveal His Glory. Therefore, we give according to the blessing that He has given us, and His greatest blessing is His Love.
