Re’eh
Can we witness our inner worlds without judgment?
Reflection by Ariel Yisraelah Hendelman:
“This week’s Torah portion, Re’eh, means `see,` which comes from the very first line:
רְאֵ֗ה אָנֹכִ֛י נֹתֵ֥ן לִפְנֵיכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם בְּרָכָ֖ה וּקְלָלָֽה
See, this day I set before you blessing and curse (11:26)
The Torah goes on to tell us that the blessing comes if we follow the mitzvot and the opposite comes if we don’t. Some of the Chassidic masters take this line as an invitation to connect the two aspects of God – Elohim, signifying judgment (connected with `curses`) and YHVH, signifying compassion (or in this case, `blessings.`). Realizing that these two aspects are one is fundamental to our spiritual work. It enables everything we encounter in life to become a doorway for expanded consciousness – what feels like a `blessing` as well as what feels like a `curse.` To do that, we have to be present enough to witness the judgment within ourselves with compassion, which will eventually melt it down and allow it to transform. In this way, the two aspects become one, and we see that both come from the same source.
The Me’or Einayim points out that the Torah could have chosen to phrase it differently, but that the sense that is called on within us is that of sight. We are asked to see the blessing and the curse; the judgment and the compassion; the night and the day.
Why?
There are many different kinds of meditation practice, but the one that focuses on witnessing our inner worlds without judgment is called `insight.` We close our eyes and open our third eye, so to speak, or the eye of our Anochi, our I-ness, that piece of the infinite within us. When this `insight` is opened, our seeing goes way beyond the physical realm, penetrating the surface depths into the spiritual. This is how we `see the blessing and the curse.` This is how we unite Elohim and YHVH."