We are coming close to the end of the book of Deuteronomy, a book which consists of a long speech which Moses delivers at the close of his life. 

In the speech Moses reviews the history of the Jewish people, the joys and tragefies which have taken place and speaks about entering the Land of Israel. 

There is discussion of what society will look like once they live in the land, all the commandments regarding agriculture as well as the judicial system and the ethical standards to which we should strive. 

This week’s Parsha, Ki Tavo, has only 6 commandments or mitzvot, one of which is the law to tithe or give 10% of ones earnings to charity. This speaks to the sensitivity we hope to cultivate in ourselves to see those around us who are in need and take responsibility for the care of the vulnerable. 

We are being trained to see. 

This is a sense which needs to be honed and “seeing” may not always come naturally to us. 

In fact Moses says to the Jewish people in this week Torah portion (paraphrased)

the wondrous feats, (the miracles of the plagues and leaving Egypt) you saw with your own eyes...yet you have not been given eyes to see or ears to hear. 

Rabbi Dr. Weinreb rabbi explains that we may have physically seen these events  but we did not internalize what we saw. 

He goes on to quote the teachings of Rabbi Bar Shaul who says that “a person can see wondrous things and yet paradoxically, not see them...Gd has blessed us with eyes to see but it is the person who must choose to see and understand. It is the person who must open his eyes and even then he cannot see unless he also opens his heart to understand. Moses is calling upon us to think deeply about these words and apply them to our own circumstances”

There is much good about us to see amidst tragedy. 

In Israel today, a 21 year old border policeman who was shot at close range is fighting for his life. 

His brothers and sisters in Israel “see” him.  Prayer vigils have popped up all over as thousands gather to pray for the recovery of BarEl Achiya Ben (the son of) Nitza. Thousand of chapters of Psalms have been recited by his family, even though these people may never have met him. We see him and understand we will be there for him. Our hearts are connected to him. 

Sivan Rahav Meir, Israel news correspondent and Torah teacher reported on an epic story this week. She met an American woman who made Aliya and married an Israeli whose grandparents were Holocaust survivors. One of the grandparents lost both of his parents and two siblings in Auschwitz, but miraculously 10 siblings survived. Nine of the survivors moved to Israel and began building families but the 10th, Aunt Adele, moved to America and completely removed herself from the family. In Israel today there are four generations and  over 350 members but they never forgot Aunt Adele. They saw her even though she refused to be seen, the attempts to connect with her were rebuffed. 

A few years ago, the young American daughter in law was hired by an educational organization and was sent to America to recruit students. To her surprise she found herself only a few miles from Aunt Adele’s home and decided to try and bring about a rapprochement. Despite some initial hesitancy she was able to prevail and within minutes had Aunt Adele on a video chat with her siblings in Israel as they cried and laughed together in their native Hungarian. 

Aunt Adele was back in the family. 

She was back because they never forgot her, their hearts were connected to her and they always saw her even though she didn’t want to be seen. 

Aunt Adele passed away a few weeks ago and made the request to be buried in Israel. The family made the arrangements and she was flown to Israel to be buried in the family plot, accompanied by those who understood her pain but refused to let her be unseen. 

Aunt Adele has come home. 

As we approach the High Holiday season and we reflect on ourselves and the work we need to do to take a small step to becoming the best version of ourselves we need to take a good look. We need to see ourselves as we really are, people who are loving and caring and mean well-sometimes we just mess up. And then we need to really look the people in our orbit, open not only our eyes but also our hearts in love and understanding as we extend to them the same compassion we extend to ourselves - they too are good, loving and caring-they just may mess up a little bit. 

That clarity of vision will help us sharpen all our senses so we can really see one another and then begin to really hear one another as well. Then the blasts of the Shofar in the days ahead will truly resonate within us as we have opened ourselves up to its call. 

Shabbat Shalom and so much love!