Depth Perception

Parashat Re’eh, Deuteronomy 11:26–16:17

Suzy Linett, Devar Shalom, Ontario, CA

When I entered kindergarten at the age of five, it was discovered that I required glasses. I had already been learning to read and had no problem seeing things which I held close. When it came to seeing the words things the teacher wrote on the chalkboard, however, everything was blurry and difficult to distinguish. As soon as I received my glasses, I remember being startled by things I could see. My vision included not only what the teacher wrote, but also I could see individual leaves on trees and details that I had simply missed before. This week’s parasha, Re’eh, reminds me of that. Re’eh means “see.” It is not a simple glance or a casual observation that we need, but instead a true, deep vision of the word of God and what our Lord requires of us. 

In this Torah section, the Lord lays before us choices. We not only see what is required; we also see the consequences if we are not obedient. We see the good and we see the bad that can result from our behavior. We cannot appreciate the good unless we see the bad, and we have no desire to avoid the bad unless we see the good. In the human body, it is necessary to see out of both eyes to perceive the depth of things around us. As each eye sees things at a slightly different angle, the brain interprets the two different messages and puts them together to calculate distance and relative position. Re’eh requires that we see not only what we gain by following the Lord, but also what we lose if we don’t. 

As it is read between Tisha b’Av and the beginning of the High Holy Days, Re’eh serves as a way to bring us from deep sorrow into the presence of the Lord God of Israel in glory and joy. It follows the instruction about obedience in last week’s portion, Ekev, which taught that blessings will abound to a people chosen by and obedient to the Lord, and actually that super obedience yields super blessing. In Re’eh, Moses continues with lessons about consequences of choice and of behavior, about holiness and service. 

These lessons are given in the wilderness prior to entry into the Land of Promise. The old generation has died, and only Joshua and Caleb remain with memories of Egypt and the Exodus. Two paths are laid in front of the people. The choice is theirs. They need to see both. Just as we need both eyes for visual depth perception, the Israelites need to see both options for spiritual depth perception. 

The first verse of this parasha, Deuteronomy 11:26, sets the tone: “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse.” Both are set before the Israelites, and indeed, both are set before us today. A choice must be made. There is no middle of the road. One or the other. That’s it. There is distinction and separation. There is no confusion, no gray areas at all. We cannot “stumble” into disobedience; it is a choice, a decision, as the Lord has given us a view, a vision, the power to see consequences. As the parasha continues, it is evident that in order to fully live in the Land, to live the life promised by the Lord, the Israelites had to “cross over” the Jordan River. They had to leave and go to “the other side.” We see this throughout biblical history. Indeed, the word “Hebrew” derives from a root meaning to cross over. Avraham had to cross over the Euphrates, the Israelites had to cross over the Red Sea, the disciples had to cross over the Sea of Galilee, we must cross over from old lives to new ones. We must see the Lord, and we must see how He desires each of us to live.

In Numbers 13, the ten spies who gave a bad report were only able to see the physical realm. They did not have the spiritual depth perception to see what the Lord could do. A few weeks ago, we read how the donkey was able to see the Angel of the Lord even though Balaam could not. In Genesis, Abraham saw the Promised Land of the future. The author of Hebrews, when discussing the faith of our ancestors, wrote, “These all died in faith without receiving the things promised—but they saw them and welcomed them from afar, and they confessed that they were strangers and sojourners on the earth” (11:13). They had spiritual vision, true spiritual depth perception, to see not only what was, but also what is, and what will be.

Separation is the theme of the rest of this parasha. The Lord requires not only that we see spiritually, but that we separate from the path of disobedience completely. We are to eat clean animals only. Unclean animals are simply not food. We are to follow the tithing cycle, which means forgoing the sacrificial system of the pagan nations, and following the Lord’s commands about giving. We are to sanctify the first-born, not sacrifice him to a pagan deity. We are to live apart, not intermingle, yet become an example to the nations around us. In Revelation 3:16 we read, “So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spew you out of my mouth.” How do these commands relate to spiritual depth perception? There is a connection between the physical and spiritual realms. Our physical lives set the stage for spiritual blessings. The English writer John Heywood (ca. 1546) wrote, “We cannot see the forest for the trees.” This applies spiritually. Are we so focused on details that we miss the bigger picture? Or, are we so intent on the future that we cannot see those things right in front of us? Re’eh requires that we see the forest and the trees. We must have the depth perception to really see both and how they impact each other.

A song written by Johnny Nash in 1972 says,

 I can see clearly now, the rain has gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna be a bright, bright sun-shining day
It's gonna be a bright, bright sun-shining day

We must have spiritual vision and depth perception to see clearly. “Turn my eyes away from gazing at vanity but revive me in Your ways” (Psalm 119:37). Instead of asking “Do you see what I see?” Re’eh asks, “Do you see what He sees?”

Scripture references are from the TLV