Episode Title

Re’eh: What Does It Mean to Truly See?

Episode Overview

Beloved, this week’s Torah Reading is Parashat Re’eh, found in Deuteronomy 11:26–16:17. And the parshah opens with one simple, yet spiritually loaded admonishment from Moshe to the people of Yah: Re’eh. See.

But this seeing that Moshe calls us to is not a casual glance. It is not scrolling. It is not consuming information. It is not reacting to the latest headline, prophetic claim, social media post, or end-times rumor. No. Re’eh is a covenant command to perceive what Yah has placed before us with spiritual clarity, trained discernment, and a heart that is willing to obey.

In this teaching, we examine the blessing and the curse that Moshe sets before Yasharal/Yisra’el, the personal and communal responsibility embedded in the Hebrew grammar of Re’eh, and the sobering warning of Deuteronomy 13 concerning false prophets and dreamers of dreams. The great question before us is not merely whether something looks impressive, prophetic, or accurate. The greater question is this: where is it leading us? Toward YHVH and His covenant path? Or away from Him into fear, speculation, compromise, and destruction?

Primary Torah Reading

Parashat Re’eh: Deuteronomy 11:26–16:17. The portion begins with Moshe setting before the people a blessing and a curse, and it proceeds to address covenant obedience, centralized worship, idolatry, false prophets, dietary instructions, tithes, generosity toward the poor, release from debt, and the pilgrimage festivals.

Main Teaching Theme

Re’eh is Yah’s call for His covenant people to see rightly. To perceive Torah not as mankind has framed it, but as Yehovah Himself has revealed it: loving instructions in righteousness that lead to blessing, life, shalom, and covenant wholeness. And beloved, if we cannot see clearly what Yah has set before us, then we cannot rightly choose the halachah path that leads to life.

Key Teaching Points

  • Re’eh is personal. Moshe’s opening imperative, “See,” is addressed in the singular. Yah is not calling someone else to perceive His Torah for us. He is calling each son and daughter of Yasharal/Yisra’el to see for himself or herself.
  • Re’eh is communal. Immediately after the singular command, Moshe shifts into the plural. The individual must see, but what is seen must be walked out among the covenant people as a community.
  • Torah is set before us as blessing and curse. The issue is not whether Torah is relevant. Yah has already declared what it is. The issue is whether we will perceive it rightly and walk in it faithfully.
  • Biblical seeing requires stillness and discernment. We live in an overstimulated world of headlines, alerts, feeds, podcasts, opinions, and prophetic speculation. But Re’eh demands that we stop long enough to ask: what is Yah saying in this?
  • Deuteronomy 13 trains our eyes. A sign or wonder may come to pass, yet the messenger may still be false if that message leads Yah’s people away from Him, away from Torah, and away from covenant faithfulness.
  • The test is direction, not spectacle. The question is not simply, “Was the prediction accurate?” The question is, “Where is this voice taking me?”
  • Yeshua’s ministry echoes Re’eh. When our Master said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear,” He was calling His taught ones into the same covenant posture: open eyes, open ears, and a heart ready to respond.
  • Jerusalem’s failure was a failure to see. Yeshua wept over Yerushalayim because she did not recognize the time of her visitation. That failure to perceive carried devastating consequences.
  • Today is the day to respond. Re’eh presses upon us the urgency of “today.” Today is the day to see, choose, hear, obey, and walk the covenant path that leads to blessing and life.

Teaching Flow

  1. Opening Admonishment: Moshe begins with “Re’eh,” calling every covenant son and daughter to perceive what Yah has placed before them.
  2. The Question Before Us: How do we perceive Torah in a world that dismisses Yah’s instructions as irrelevant, archaic, or oppressive?
  3. The Grammar is the Teaching: The singular “see” speaks to the individual, while the plural “I set before you” speaks to the whole covenant community.
  4. The Discipline of Biblical Seeing: Re’eh is not passive observation. It is stillness, attentiveness, inner perception, and obedience.
  5. Yeshua and Spiritual Perception: The Master blesses eyes that see and ears that hear, connecting Kingdom understanding with covenant discernment.
  6. Jerusalem and Missed Visitation: Yerushalayim failed to perceive the time of her visitation, and that blindness led to devastation.
  7. The False Prophet Test: Deuteronomy 13 teaches that even fulfilled signs must be judged by whether they lead us toward YHVH or away from Him.
  8. Seeing in a Season of Fire: In a world filled with prophetic claims, wars, rumors, political disruptions, and cultural upheaval, Yah’s instruction remains: Re’eh. See.
  9. Closing Exhortation: Today is the day to see clearly, choose rightly, and walk in covenant faithfulness through Yeshua Messiah.

Listener Takeaways

  • You cannot choose rightly what you do not see clearly.
  • Torah must be perceived personally before it can be walked out communally.
  • Accuracy, signs, wonders, and prophetic fulfillment are not the final measures of truth.
  • The Word of Yah remains the plumb line for testing every voice, teaching, headline, and claim.
  • Yah’s people must resist fear, sensationalism, and speculation that pull them away from covenant faithfulness.
  • Re’eh is not simply the name of a Torah portion. It is a divine summons to open the inner eyes and walk in obedience.

Questions for Reflection

  • How do I currently perceive Torah: as Yah’s loving instructions in righteousness, or through the distorted lens of religious tradition, culture, or churchianity?
  • What voices have I allowed to shape my perception of current events, prophecy, and end-times expectations?
  • Do the teachers, ministries, and prophetic voices I listen to lead me closer to YHVH, Torah, and Yeshua Messiah, or away from covenant faithfulness?
  • Am I practicing the stillness necessary to truly see what Yah is placing before me?
  • Where is Yah calling me to choose blessing today?

Scripture and Reference Citations

  • Deuteronomy 11:26–16:17: The Torah portion Re’eh opens with the blessing and curse and includes instructions concerning worship, idolatry, false prophets, clean and unclean foods, tithes, charity, debt release, servants, and the pilgrimage festivals.
  • Deuteronomy 11:26–28: “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse”—the foundational covenant choice that frames the entire teaching.
  • Deuteronomy 13:1–5: Moshe’s warning that even if a sign or wonder comes to pass, Yah’s people must not listen to a prophet or dreamer who leads them after other gods.
  • Matthew 13:16: Yeshua blesses the eyes that see and the ears that hear, showing that spiritual perception is central to Kingdom understanding.
  • Luke 19:41–44: Yeshua weeps over Yerushalayim because she did not recognize the time of her visitation.
  • 2 Corinthians 6:2: “Now is the day of salvation,” reinforcing the urgency of responding to Yah’s call today.
  • Rashi on Re’eh: The singular imperative “see” emphasizes that the covenant demand is personally binding upon each Israelite.
  • Or HaChaim on Re’eh: Seeing is treated as spiritual perception through the inner eye, not merely natural sight.

Beloved, may this teaching encourage you to slow down, quiet the noise, and truly see what Yehovah has placed before you. May your eyes be trained by Torah, your ears tuned to the voice of the Master, and your steps ordered in the covenant path that leads to blessing, shalom, and life. Halleluyah. And Amein.

The Two Afflictions That Get God’s Attention

Messianic Torah Observer Podcast Episode: The Two Afflictions That Get God's Attention Host: Rod Thomas Date: April 3, 2025 Episode Summary: In this episode, Rod Thomas shares his thoughts ahead of the spring feast and discusses the significance of Yom Kippur, the Day...

read more