R'eih, our Torah portion, begins with a very ominous line: "See, I set before you this day blessing and curse." (Deut. 11:26) It's ominous and daunting, because God was saying back then - and is still saying TO THIS DAY - that each of us has to make a choice. God will not force observance; we have free will. But our actions also come with consequences. It's still a choice, as we well know from tragedies in our own lives. Someone may choose to drive despite being drunk; an individual may become addicted to drugs, despite knowing all along how dangerous and devastating that abuse will become; and even on smaller, less dramatic levels, life is full of temptations to make bad decisions. We don't - and never will - get it right every time. The Torah persistently reminds us that we DO still have choices... but we must keep our eyes wide open, hence the word "R'eih" meaning "SEE!!", to the reverberating effects of all that we do and say.
One of the fascinating ways this plays out in the Torah is a phenomenon that is often not the object of our focus; our gaze, if you will... The author of our text regularly acknowledges the power of other religious traditions and belief systems. This may be surprising, because we often learn (in Hebrew School perhaps) that hocus-pocus, black magic, psychics, ghosts, and other supernatural phenomena are antithetical to our Jewish tradition. And indeed, they are... but not because they're "fake." From stories like Bilaam the prophet, to the magicians in Pharaoh's court, to laws prohibiting witches; the Torah often conveys a message that could (justifiably) be interpreted as, "Sure, that stuff works, but it's not part of Judaism." I think that sometimes surprises people. Somewhere along the way, most of us were taught that these phenomena simply do NOT exist. The problem there, of course, is that were they to prove their existence, we might now lose our faith and reliance on the Torah: "You told me it was all mumbo-jumbo; how can I trust you about ANYTHING now?!?!"
There is an intriguing example of this in our Torah portion, where Moses poses the theoretical scenario of a rogue prophet or what he also calls a "dream-diviner" showing up. That bizarro-Moses might try to lure you away to false gods and idolatrous traditions! And Moses even goes so far as to say: "even if the sign or wonder that he names to you comes true, do not heed the words of that prophet or that dream-diviner." (13:3-4) Think about that for a second. Moses is conceding that this interloper might be able to control supernatural forces and impress you with some really inexplicable and awe-inspiring demonstrations! Nevertheless, this does not come from God, and it is not the path we should follow. To me, this actually demonstrates tremendous strength on the part of our religious tradition. It is not fazed by magic or miracles. Those things are, surprisingly, irrelevant. The focus must remain on the ethics, morals, rituals, traditions, and stories of our heritage; regardless of whatever fancy-shmancy tricks that other guy may have up his sleeve!
This brings me back to the notion of "choice." God, and the Torah, is reminding us that you may see some impressive things and be dazzled by the charisma or strong words of a false prophet... but you already know whether you should be following that person or not. No matter what magic they unleash or dominance they may exert, if they contradict the fundamental principles of the Bible - to take care of the poor, the orphan, the widow, and the disenfranchised; to love our fellow humans as we do ourselves; to be good stewards of the earth and all its creatures; and to remain faithful to our religious traditions - you gotta walk away. Nevertheless, it's still a choice. No one can make it for you but you. But if what led you astray was greed, power, lust, and callousness towards the plight of others, there WILL be repercussions for your actions. It's still up to you. Each of us gets to decide. But for all our sakes; choose wisely.
CC images in this blog post, courtesy of:
1. Sami Keinänen on Flickr
2. pikist.com
3. Jim Capaldi on Wikimedia Commons
4. needpix.com
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