Rabbi Ruditsky writes about the underlying concept of the ritual that is executed when a corpse is found lying in an open area. The key theme is the acknowledgment of social responsibility, for the person who is deceased, for the perpetrator of his/her death, and for the community who was not aware of the needs of the deceased.
In the attached article, Rabbi Axelrad compares and contrasts the relationship issues in this parashah to contemporary customs.
Rabbi Sacks writes about the meaning of humility, and when leadership incorporates it and when they don’t. Many great leaders, elected or otherwise, possess many good qualities, but not always humility. The parashah refers to kings, who typically were never humble, yet should have tempered their power with humility.
Rabbi Sacks looks at parashat Re’eh from the perspective of joy, and rejoicing, a contrast from the frequent intense focus on social justice and righteousness. He observes that simcha occurs 7 times in this parashah alone. Please follow the link below to read his full article:
Moses continues to communicate God’s message to the people, telling them that God gives them a choice of blessing or curse: when they possess the land they must obey God’s laws to ensure continued blessings; otherwise they will be cursed.
Rabbi Ruditsky focuses on the repetitive theme of social concerns relating to the Shemitah, Kosher laws, and Peah. He connects it to the reference in the Aleinu prayer to perfecting the world under the sovereignty of the Almighty. Among other things, this is analogous to ridding our world of hate and discrimination, aka social action.
Cantor Orly sings Yad B’Yad
The theme for the parashah and for the haftarah is God’s unending love for Israel. Rabbi Ruditsky writes of people—biblical and other—who dare to question God in their personal and unique perspectives.
Rabbi Sacks writes about the word Shema: it is fundamentally untranslatable. Hearing and listening have so many meanings. Rabbi Sacks refers to the 2 key influences on Western culture: Ancient Israel and Greece. While Greece was a visual culture, Judaism is based on a faith in an invisible God.
In parashat Va’etchanan, Moses speaks of the uniqueness of Jewish history, the singularity of Israel’s redemption by God. While so much of the Torah is about “what” to do, or “how” to do it, Va’etchanan is about “why”: Why did God choose Israel for redemption?