רְאֵה 
Re’eh / See
Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17
Isaiah 54:11-55:5
1 John 4:1-6

Seeing and Understanding...

        Re'eh begins with: ‘Behold (See) , I set before you today a blessing and a curse:  the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; and the  curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known.’
     In the prior Torah portion, Eikev, Deuteronomy 11:1 states: 'Therefore you shall love the Lord your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always.'   The verses through Deuteronomy 11:7 continue with God telling the Israelites that He does not speak to their children who did not witness the great Exodus, the miracles, the destruction of Dathan and Abiram - but rather He speaks to them - for they have seen…    To see the choices, the mountains, the blessings and the curses and most importantly to understand.
    To see is one thing, but to understand is another.  God is telling His people to see with their whole hearts and minds to behold the outcome as they cross over - (Ivri) - the Jordan. Deuteronomy 11:29-32 ‘Now it shall be, when the Lord your God has brought you into the land which you go to possess, that you shall put the  blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. Are they not on the other side of the Jordan, toward the setting sun, in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the plain opposite Gilgal, beside the terebinth trees of Moreh? For you will cross over the Jordan and go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and you will possess it and dwell in it. And you shall be careful to observe all the statutes and judgments which I set before you today.’
      The foundation is set before us: to see the blessings and the curses, to cross over and become a Hebrew as Abraham did, and to obey God's Word.  
     Re'eh continues with the instructions for the prescribed place of worship, making it clear that His people will obey Him and not continue as they were: Deuteronomy 12:8-11 'You shall not at all do as we are doing here today- every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes- for as yet you have not come to the rest and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you. But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety, then there will be the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. There you shall bring all that I command you...'  
     In Deuteronomy 12:15-16 God allows the unclean person as well as the clean person to eat of the meat, only to not eat the blood - for that is the flow of life.  Deuteronomy 12:23 states: ‘Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life; you may not eat the life with the meat.’
     The admonition to beware of false prophets makes it very clear about the sanctity of His Word.  Deuteronomy 12:32 -'Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.' 
      If anything is added to or taken from, that would conclude that the person doing so would be a false witness/prophet/teacher in the eyes of Elohim.  The situation, consequence and punishment of someone that leads another astray is continued in chapter 13 and God ends this with ' because you have listened to the voice of the Lord your God, to keep all His commandments which I command you today, to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord your God.'   Again - choose life!
     Instructions of kashrut, tithing, charity and the importance of the three pilgrimage moadim conclued Re'eh. Deuteronomy 16:16-17 ‘Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.’
     We see and obey so many things and yet these small but necessary matters can save our lives, as in stopping at a red light.  How much greater would our lives be if we  the inslistened to the instructions of God and actually took time to see what was set before us.    

רְאֵה 
Re’eh / See
Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17
Isaiah 54:11-55:5
1 John 4:1-6

       Re’eh opens with: ‘Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; 28 and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known.’   Deuteronomy 11:26-28. 
     In Deuteronomy 11:26, the Hebrew states: ‘I give to your face…’ The English has translated the Hebrew words לְ · פָּנֶה · אַתֶּם  paneh (pnh) face/to turn towards and atem you, into ‘set before you’. But the Hebrew is much more powerful.  To set before you is like a menu. ‘Here are your options, set before you so now choose what you agree with or like.’  Which we all did.  But the Hebrew puts it much more bluntly: “I am setting My way in your face, now choose.’ 
    God has given us a choice, a major life altering choice.  He plants before us life or death, which contain the life blessings or the life curses.  His people were living in the wilderness, knowing only The True God. They were soon to live among the nations, which would seduce His people to worship the ‘other gods’. That never changed. How many Christmas trees are erected into Christian homes with the presumption that they are ‘worshiping the birth of Jesus’.  Jesus is the reason for the season.
      Chapter 12 continues with a prescribed place for worship, with a  stark warning in Deuteronomy 12:8-9 ‘You shall not at all do as we are doing here today—every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes— 9 for as yet you have not come to the rest and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you.’
     God wanted unity, a set apart nation walking as one under His right rulings and a set order for His worship, ‘Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see; 14 but in the place which the Lord chooses, in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.’ Deuteronomy 12:13-14.
     This command from God goes with the statement in Deuteronomy 12:32 (in the Tanakh, Deuteronomy 13:1). ‘Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.’
     The sages teach ‘that one may not improve on the Torah by adding new commandments; what human intelligence considers an honor to God just may be an abomination in His eyes.’
     Right before this command, God exposes the nations for who they are, which is not who we are to be, Deuteronomy 12:29-31. 
     Proverbs 14:12 ‘There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.’
     Proverbs 12:15 ‘The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.’
     Proverbs 21:2 ‘Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.’
     Judges 21:25 ‘In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.’
     Isaiah 5:21 ‘Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!’     
     Deuteronomy 13 starts with ‘the dreamer of dreams’. What an amazing analogy for a false prophet. Again, God speaks about His people going after ‘other gods that they did not know…’
“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.’
    God was very clear and transparent that He was ‘testing’ His people.  He is still testing His people to see if we are falling for the ‘dreamer of dream’ or if we stand stead fast for who we are in Him. Not our ideology of what we think we are, but actually who we are in Him.
     Who were and who are the ‘dreamer of dreams’? In Biblical context it was the nations that surrounded the Israelites. Every religion – except what is real in the Torah, was started by a person that had their idea and ideology. There is no definitive answer to how many religions exist in the world, but estimates range from 4,000 to 10,000 or more, according to research. 
          Also included in Re’eh are the principles regarding improper mourning, clean and unclean food, tithing, debts canceled and contributions to the poor, the firstborn of every animal and instructions concerning bond-servants. 
     Re’eh closes in chapter 16 with the Torah of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals, Shalosh Regalim  שלוש רגלים. Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot.  The first time that we see the three festivals as a unit is in Exodus. Shalosh Regalim is referred to as ‘The Three Legs’. Shalosh means three or rather, three of something and regalim is the plural of regal meaning foot. So literally, it means "three feet." Some translate these three festivals into ‘The Three Legs’. 
     Withing these instructions regarding these particular times of God, He states: ‘…in the place where the Lord chooses to put His name, (Passover Deuteronomy 16:6). ‘…at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide, (Shavuot Deuteronomy 16:11) and Sukkot in Deuteronomy 16: 15 ‘…in the place which the Lord chooses…’
     The Tabernacle is believed to have been destroyed by the Philistines around 1050 BC, according to historical accounts. Later, the place that God chose would be the city of Jerusalem, when the Temple stood. All males had to appear before the Lord for the three festivals; Exodus 23:14-17, 34:23-24, and Deuteronomy 16:16.  
     Today, living in the Diaspora, we appear before God for His appointed times, whether we are isolated at home, involved in a synagogue or fellowship, the importance is honor God His way, not adding to or taking away from.