Two Minute Torah Podcast

Re'eh 5768 by Rabbi Jay M. Stein

Blessing, if you obey (tishm'u – literally “to hear”) the commandments of the lord that I enjoin upon you this day.” (Deuteronomy 11:27)

Hebrew: tishm'u, which most commonly means “hear” (as listen in English can also mean “obey”). The reward of an observant life will be the ability to hear God's voice among the conflicting messages competing for our attention in a noisy world. (S'fat Emet quoted in Etz Hayin Humash page 1061)

This week's reading open's with the phrase “See I set before you this day blessing and curses.” (Deuteronomy 11:26) and in the second verse of the portion it uses the word “hear.” And in a subtle way the text suggests that it takes a variety of senses to live a complete Jewish life. The opening sentences remind us not to compartmentalize our lives and to utilize varied components of who we are to access the depth of our tradition. However, the S'fat Emet takes the idea one step further.

The S'fat Emet advises us that sometimes our senses can be overloaded and the ability to sift through competing forces for our attention is sometimes difficult. The chef has a discerning palate that permits him to taste the varied ingredients in a particular dish. The wine connoisseur with a developed olfactory sense can smell the subtle differences in a wine's development. And therefore, it follows that a developed person, a mature moral being is able to discern the important sounds from the background noise. A father can hear the sound of one of is children calling in the middle of the night while the teenager isn't even woken by the sound of a thunderstorm.

That must be our task. To develop our ability to hear. To learn to drown out the spiteful criticism and to hear the constructive advise is hard to do. To hear a fellow person's suffering but to ignore the idle gossip is a challenge. Once we have mastered that, we will be able to sense the miracles and the conversation we daily enter with the Almighty.