Re'eh | Sweeping over the bleeding edge of choices

The opening sentence of Parasha Re'eh starts with an uncompromising statement:

The meaning of Re'eh is defined as "vision", and "perception" with the connotation of "conceiving in details". The second meaning of Re'eh is defined as the unclean (vulture) bird, alluding to recognition of specie's exceptionally acute sight.

Parashat Re'eh is unique in its disproportional amount of commandments that are presented here as an obligation to conduct everyday life (Kashrut and others) and therefore can be seen as a fundamental life guidance chapter in Torah.

Many commentators pointed out that the reference to vision in Re'eh (רְאֵ֗ה) is an anomaly to the conventional form of addressing the Jewish nation (Shema). There is no clear reason, at the first glance, why this Parashat departs from a conventional 'listen", while in all other instances in the Torah, "listen" is the vehicle of persuation.

To understand the background of the expression we may look at the rest of the opening sentence. Torah uses the word לִפְנֵיכֶ֖ם which derives from the root "face" loosely translated here as "I set before you" or with a better connotation can be understood as "I am facing you with the obligation to look at". In other words, the statement propagates persuasive recommendations to examine presented in acute detail.

We also notice the polarising option of choices - "a blessing and a curse". In other words, the sentence suggests that we need to look at both cholices simultaneously or in relationship to each other.

To examine the full sentence, let's look at the first mention of the word "face". It first appears in Genesis 1:2 describing not the "face" but a"surface" - a point of separation between the void and the darkness with the wind of God hovering over it (Veruah Elohim).

Many commentators pointed out that the triage of the separation, indeed deeply mystical, is at the core of the creation. The separation of matter and "non-matter" is only comes to existence under the scrutiny of Veruah Elohim. It is a symbiotic triage that only exists at the point of continuous surveillance. If the surveillance stops, the triage perhaps vanishes.

If bringing the same analogy to the opening statement of Re'ah, one can suggest that the interrelationship of "a blessing and a curse" may be under the same conditions. The obligations to follow commandments are conditional to Irasel's acute surveillance and the surface is where our eyes should be fixed on. Like a vulture statically fixed in mid-air wind to calculate the best trajectory over its prey, our vision needs to be acutely fixed on the ultimate choices. The choice is ours, but the existence of the choice is conditional on our participation.

Lastly, it is perhaps more understandable now why Torah uses Re'ah over Shema here. When we cover our eyes reciting Shema, we are invited to focus on internal reconciliation with Hashem through Kavanah, which is an inward-facing process. Contrary, Re'ah states that our surveillance of commandments is perhaps an integral part of the mystical purpose itself. Gliding over the bleeding edge of choices, we are the zipline that unleashes the spirit of Veruah Elokim, and without our participation, the world as we know may vanish.