RR Parshah Re’eh Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17 By Jeffrey Freeman
Shabbat Shalom,
Parshah Re’eh Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17
By Jeffrey Freeman
This weeks’ Parsha is Re’eh, “see.” This comes from Deuteronomy 11:26 See (re’eh), I am setting before you a blessing and a curse…
This reading is full of interesting lesson opportunities.
A foretelling of blessing and curses to be proclaimed from Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal in the Promised Land. Only one place to worship God. Destroy all the worship places current inhabitants. Tithing. Some seemingly random other commandments, including a comprehensive discussion about food and non-food. Don’t take away from or add to the LORD’s commandments. Don’t worship other gods. What to do with false prophets, including how to sort real prophets from fraudsters. Cancelling debts and freeing servants. And the requirement to attend the Pilgrimage Festivals of Passover, Weeks, and Booths.
Lots to pick from. Let’s look at the blessing and curse.
Deuteronomy 11:27-28 The blessing, if you listen to the mitzvot of ADONAI your God that I am commanding you today, but the curse, if you do not listen to the mitzvot of ADONAI your God, but turn from the way I am commanding you today, to go after other gods you have not known.
Michah 6:8 He has told you, humanity, what is good, and what ADONAI is seeking from you: only to practice justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Walking humbly with God is to walk in submission to His will, i.e. keeping His commandments.
Yeshua on the greatest commandment – Mark 12:30 You shall love ADONAI your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.
How do we love ADONAI? Yeshua tells us in John 14:15 If you love Me, you will keep my commandments.
1John 5:2-3 We know that we love God’s children by this – when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God – that we keep His commandments.
But some will say, “All those commandments, they are so hard to keep.”
Continuing in 1John 5:3 And His commandments are not burdensome.
Yeshua in Matthew 11:29-30 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Yeshua was teaching Torah and asserting that keeping Torah was not burdensome. Comparing Torah commands to the heavy loads (additional traditions) that the current leadership was teaching and enforcing as law.
Matthew 23:4-5 They tie up heavy loads, hard to carry, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but are not willing to lift a finger to move them. All their works they do are to be noticed by men.
Deuteronomy 30:11-16 This mitzvah that I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it far off. It is not in the heavens that you should say, ‘Who will go up to the heavens and get it for us?’ …Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross over for us to the other side of the sea and get it for us?’ …No, the word is very near to you – in your mouth and in your heart, to do it. See, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil. What I am commanding you today is to love ADONAI your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His mitzvot, statutes, and ordinances.
God’s commandments aren’t hard to understand. Neither are they difficult to keep. Unfortunately, we all do make mistakes or suffer from unplanned periods of rage (especially when we are behind the wheel in a car). So, Yeshua remains the only way for us to appear before the LORD in righteousness.
If you do have trouble understanding a commandment, we are blessed with very knowledgeable Elders. Titus 1:9 Elders are to …hold firmly to the trustworthy message in keeping with the teaching, so he can both encourage by instruction that is sound and convict those who speak against it.
Throughout the Bible we are reminded that we demonstrate our love for ADONAI through our obedience to Him. The reward for obedience is blessing. The blessing is eternal life with Him through Yeshua. Disobedience leads to a curse. The curse is death. Therefore, choose life!
Shabbat Shalom
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Sat8-Aug 2026 25th of Av, 5786 Parashat Re’eh
De 15:19-16:17Isa 54:11-55:5Rev 21:9-27
Parshah Re’eh Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17
By Jeffrey Freeman
This weeks’ Parsha is Re’eh, “see.” This comes from Deuteronomy 11:26 See (re’eh), I am setting before you a blessing and a curse…
This reading is full of interesting lesson opportunities.
A foretelling of blessing and curses to be proclaimed from Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal in the Promised Land. Only one place to worship God. Destroy all the worship places current inhabitants. Tithing. Some seemingly random other commandments, including a comprehensive discussion about food and non-food. Don’t take away from or add to the LORD’s commandments. Don’t worship other gods. What to do with false prophets, including how to sort real prophets from fraudsters. Cancelling debts and freeing servants. And the requirement to attend the Pilgrimage Festivals of Passover, Weeks, and Booths.
Lots to pick from. Let’s look at the blessing and curse.
Deuteronomy 11:27-28 The blessing, if you listen to the mitzvot of ADONAI your God that I am commanding you today, but the curse, if you do not listen to the mitzvot of ADONAI your God, but turn from the way I am commanding you today, to go after other gods you have not known.
Michah 6:8 He has told you, humanity, what is good, and what ADONAI is seeking from you: only to practice justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Walking humbly with God is to walk in submission to His will, i.e. keeping His commandments.
Yeshua on the greatest commandment – Mark 12:30 You shall love ADONAI your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.
How do we love ADONAI? Yeshua tells us in John 14:15 If you love Me, you will keep my commandments.
1John 5:2-3 We know that we love God’s children by this – when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God – that we keep His commandments.
But some will say, “All those commandments, they are so hard to keep.”
Continuing in 1John 5:3 And His commandments are not burdensome.
Yeshua in Matthew 11:29-30 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Yeshua was teaching Torah and asserting that keeping Torah was not burdensome. Comparing Torah commands to the heavy loads (additional traditions) that the current leadership was teaching and enforcing as law.
Matthew 23:4-5 They tie up heavy loads, hard to carry, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but are not willing to lift a finger to move them. All their works they do are to be noticed by men.
Deuteronomy 30:11-16 This mitzvah that I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it far off. It is not in the heavens that you should say, ‘Who will go up to the heavens and get it for us?’ …Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross over for us to the other side of the sea and get it for us?’ …No, the word is very near to you – in your mouth and in your heart, to do it. See, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil. What I am commanding you today is to love ADONAI your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His mitzvot, statutes, and ordinances.
God’s commandments aren’t hard to understand. Neither are they difficult to keep. Unfortunately, we all do make mistakes or suffer from unplanned periods of rage (especially when we are behind the wheel in a car). So, Yeshua remains the only way for us to appear before the LORD in righteousness.
If you do have trouble understanding a commandment, we are blessed with very knowledgeable Elders. Titus 1:9 Elders are to …hold firmly to the trustworthy message in keeping with the teaching, so he can both encourage by instruction that is sound and convict those who speak against it.
Throughout the Bible we are reminded that we demonstrate our love for ADONAI through our obedience to Him. The reward for obedience is blessing. The blessing is eternal life with Him through Yeshua. Disobedience leads to a curse. The curse is death. Therefore, choose life!
Shabbat Shalom
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Sat8-Aug 2026 25th of Av, 5786 Parashat Re’eh
De 15:19-16:17Isa 54:11-55:5Rev 21:9-27
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