Before you choose

At the beginning of Parashat Re’eh, as the Israelites prepare to enter the Promised Land, Moshe tells them, “See, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse.” (Deuteronomy 11:26) 

The message appears wonderfully straightforward. Two paths lie before us, one leading to blessing and the other to curse, and the choice is ours to make. 

If only life were so simple! 

The greatest challenge we face is rarely choosing knowingly between obvious good and obvious evil. More often, we confront situations in which the moral distinction itself is unclear. What one person understands as justice, another experiences as cruelty. What one sees as necessary self-protection, another condemns as aggression. Even when we share the same facts, values, and hopes, we may still disagree about which path leads towards blessing and which towards curse. 

Sometimes, the difficulty is discerning which path is truly the good, and which leads us away from it. The Tanakh itself recognises that reality is more complex than our first impressions suggest. In the Book of Isaiah, G-d says, “I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil.” 

The same G-d who creates light also creates darkness; the same G-d who makes peace also creates evil. The world, Isaiah reminds us, is more complex than the neat categories through which we instinctively try to understand it. 

That insight feels especially relevant today. We live in a culture that rewards simplification. Social media algorithms favour the strongest opinion, the quickest judgement, and the simplest story. Nuance rarely goes viral. We are constantly encouraged to sort people into opposing camps, leaving little room for ambiguity, doubt, or genuine listening. 

Perhaps that is why the opening word of our parsha is so important. It doesn’t begin with “Believe”. It begins with Re’eh, “See”. 

Seeing, in the Torah, is never passive. It means paying attention, looking beyond first impressions, and refusing to accept appearances at face value. 

Nor is seeing enough. Variations of the verb sh’ma, “to listen”, appear repeatedly throughout the parsha. Understanding demands openness, patience, and the willingness to hear voices other than our own. 

Then comes a third instruction, repeated again and again: shamor, “guard”, “keep”, “be careful”. It reminds us to pause before reaching conclusions, to protect ourselves from hasty judgements, and to treat certainty with caution. 

In an age that rewards instant reactions and simplistic narratives, Re’eh invites us to do something profoundly countercultural: to see carefully, listen deeply, and hold our convictions with humility. 

• Rabbi Rogério Cukierman, Bet David Progressive Shul