Parashat R'eh (Deuteronomy: 11:26 - 16:17)

by Rabbi Pete Tobias

Summary:

The Book of Deuteronomy has a unity of style and content that sets it apart from the previous four books of the Torah.  It purports to emanate directly from the mouth of Moses who, on the borders of the Promised Land, takes it upon himself to remind the Israelites of their journey to this point, the regulations they must observe when they enter the land and the consequences of so doing – or not.

This week’s portion, R’eh, moves us from the historical review of what happened in the wilderness to the rules that must be observed once the border is crossed.  The instructions are preceded by a typically Deuteronomic choice between the blessings that will follow if the rules are observed and the curse that will result if they are not.  The weekly portion then continues with details ranging from

The destruction of idols, ancient Israelite eating habits, dodgy prophets advising people to worship other godscancelling debts and regulating slave ownership before concluding with details of the festivals to be observed.

Commentary:

The structure of the entire book of Deuteronomy is hinted at in the short section with which the portion begins.  Covenant relationships between small tribes or cities and more powerful rulers were a common element of the Ancient Near Eastern political landscape.  A king or an emperor would offer his subjects protection in exchange for loyalty and obedience – with the implied (or often openly stated) threat that failure to abide by the terms of the covenant would result in catastrophe for the weaker, dependent group.

This model was utilised by the Deuteronomistic authors of this fifth book of the Torah, which can be seen to form a unified account of ancient Israelite history running through the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings, culminating with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians.  The terms of the covenant set out in Deuteronomy, and the consequences of not observing it are hinted at in this opening section of this week’s portion.  Once they have heard the list of their obligations – which in this week’s portion include a variety of rules for different situations that the Israelites will encounter once they enter the land, the choice between good and evil, with which this portion begins, will be more clearly outlined – in Deuteronomy chapter 28.

In a nutshell, the Israelites are promised reward and prosperity should they observe the commandments and a whole range of personal and national suffering should they fail to do so.  Within that framework, the authors then set out their vision of a just society.  The details of that vision provide a fascinating insight into the workings of the world of our biblical ancestors, though necessarily couched in the dogmatic terms of an Ancient Near Eastern covenant.

In order to assert the accuracy and infallibility of their vision and the means by which it would be implemented, the authors included this telling verse at the beginning of chapter 13: ‘Be careful to observe only that which I enjoin upon you: neither add to it nor take away from it.’  Well, they would say that, wouldn’t they….

Rabbi Pete Tobias

The Liberal Synagogue Elstree