27 Aug PARASHAT RE’EH: WE CAN TAKE MOSHE’S WORD FOR IT

Parashat Re’eh begins
with Moshe telling
Beneh Yisrael, “See
that I am presenting
you today with a
blessing and a curse.” He then proceeds
to explain that the people will earn G-d’s
blessings by fulfilling His commands, and
they will be subject to the opposite, Heaven
forbid, if they disobey.
The Or Ha’haim Ha’kadosh (Rav Haim
Ben-Attar, 1696-1743) raises a number
of questions regarding this verse. First,
he asks why Moshe begins his address
with the word “Re’eh” – “See,” instead of
telling the people to “listen” to what he was
telling them. Secondly, Moshe here uses the
word “Anochi” for “I,” instead of the more
common word, “Ani.” Normally, the word
“Anochi” is used to emphasize exclusion,
as though saying, “Specifically I,” or, “I and
nobody else.” Why would Moshe use the
word “Anochi” in this context?
The Or Ha’haim answers that when a person
seeks to urge his audience to choose spiritual
engagement over indulgence in physical and
material pleasures, they will not likely pay
attention to him unless he is familiar with
both the delights of spiritual achievement,

as well as physical enjoyments. It is not
enough for him to have acquired spiritual
excellence; he must also have experienced
worldly delights, so that he can confidently
tell his audience that the joy of spiritual
engagement exceeds that of worldly
pleasures. Otherwise, they will dismiss
his words of admonition, claiming that he
urges them to forego worldly delights for
the sake of spirituality only because he has
not had opportunities to indulge in worldly
pleasures.
Moshe therefore begins his address to the
people by telling them to “see” that it is he,
Moshe, who is urging them to choose the
blessing of spirituality over the curse of
exclusive focus on worldly delights. Moshe
enjoyed honor, prestige and wealth – but
also unparalleled spiritual greatness, even
spending forty days and nights atop Mount
Sinai without food or water, receiving the
Torah. He was well acquainted with both
realms – the physical and the spiritual – and
so he, more than anybody else, could be
trusted to tell us which of the two realms we
should choose.
The Or Ha’haim adds that this explanation
of the verse also answers a third question
– why Moshe here uses the singular form,

“Re’eh,” even though he
was addressing the entire
nation. Normally, the Or
Ha’haim writes, when
somebody speaks to a large
audience, each person
understands the presenter’s
words in a different way, or
comes away with a different
perspective on the words that
were spoken. Sometimes,
however, the speaker
presents an idea so clearly,
compellingly and effectively,
that there is only one way
to understand his words,
and everybody walks away with the same
message. Moshe’s point in this verse was
perfectly clear – that he, more than anybody
else who ever lived, was in a position to
urge us to choose spirituality over excessive
indulgence in worldly delights. This
message was so compelling that all the
people heard and understood it the precise
same way. And so Moshe says to them,
“Re’eh” – as though they were seeing this
message as a single individual.
We might find it difficult to sacrifice
convenience and comfort for the sake

of Torah study, prayer, and Misva
observance. The benefits of the physical
and material world are clear and obvious,
whereas the benefits of Torah and Misvot
are not readily discernible. But we
must remember that we can take Moshe
Rabbenu’s word for it. We can trust him that
there is no greater or more precious privilege
than devoting ourselves to the service of our
Creator. The sacrifice of our time, money
and convenience for learning and Misvot
is well worth it, because the blessings we
stand to gain by committing ourselves to
Hashem far exceed any benefits that the
physical world can possibly offer us.