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Our Torah for this week (i.e., parashat Re'eh) directs us to look with compassion upon the needy and to suppress our selfish impulses: "Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart ... and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the LORD against you, and you be guilty of sin (Deut. 15:9). The Hebrew verb translated "take heed" is an imperative urging us to be careful about how we think, since our thoughts affect our hearts, and our hearts affect our choices and actions. Suspicious or cynical thoughts are a symptom a hard heart, that is, a "difficult" heart that has trouble feeling sympathy for others. Note that the word translated "unworthy" (in the phrase "unworthy thought") is beli'al (בְּלִיַּעַל), which, according to Samson Raphael Hirsch, derives from the preposition be'li (בְּלִי), meaning "without," and ya'al (יַעַל), meaning "to progress," suggesting thinking that is feckless, stunted, profane, and useless. Worthy thinking, on the other hand, is fruitful as looks for the good in others and extends chesed, as it is written: ῾Η ἀγάπη ...οὐ λογίζεται τὸ κακόν, "love does not think evil" (1 Cor. 13:5) and ῾η ἀγάπη συγχαίρει δὲ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, "love rejoices in the truth" (1 Cor. 13:8).
Hebrew Lesson
Deut. 15:9a reading (click):
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The LORD wants us to be willing to help others who are in need... Regarding the case of a poor brother Torah says: "You shall give to him freely (i.e., naton titten lo: נָתוֹן תִּתֵּן לוֹ, "giving you shall give") and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this reason the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake" (Deut. 15:10). Don't miss the connection here: you are blessed in order to give to those in need. Moreover, the Scripture promises that "whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed" (Prov. 19:17; cp. Prov. 28:27).
Hebrew Lesson
Prov. 19:17 reading (click):
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We read: "Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor, but evil comes to him who searches for it" (Prov. 11:27). The one who seeks good is called shocher tov (שׁחֵר טוֹב), "a seeker of good." The shocher tov uses the "good eye" (i.e., ha'ayin ha'tovah: הַעַיִן־הַטּוֹבָה) to see worth and potential in others. The one who searches out evil, on the other hand, is called doresh ra'ah, "a searcher of evil." The doresh ra'ah has an evil eye (ayin ha'ra) that is stingy, critical and faultfinding. The proverb may therefore be stated this way: When you seek the good of others, you will find God's favor (ratzon), but when you search for evil in others, it becomes your own. As the Baal Shem Tov once said, "When we see faults in others, we must understand that they only reflect the evil within ourselves." Likewise King David said, וּתְפִלָּתִי עַל־חֵיקִי תָשׁוּב, "my prayer shall turn back upon my breast" (Psalm 35:13). Some prayers are conscious words spoken to God, whereas others are expressions of heart attitudes. Our proverb teaches that when we harbor indifference, ill will, or resentment toward others, we hurt ourselves; when we favor others and desire their blessing, on the other hand, we will find God's favor and blessing. טוֹב־עַיִן הוּא יְברָךְ - "The one with the good eye will be blessed" (Prov. 22:9; Matt. 6:22).
Hebrew Lesson
Prov. 22:9 reading (click):
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The heart looks through the eye.... A good eye (i.e., ayin tovah: עַיִן טוֹבָה) - sometimes called a "beautiful eye" (עין יפה) - refuses to think evil about others (it "does not impute the bad" - οὐ λογίζεται τὸ κακόν - as in 1 Cor. 13:5), but it rejoices in the truth – even if such truth is found only in the hope of a future good (1 Cor. 13:7). The good eye is the instrument of a giving heart that looks upon the needs and pains of others with genuine compassion. An "evil eye" (i.e., ayin hara: עַיִן רָעָה), on the other hand, is cynical, jaded, envious, and unsympathetic to other people and their struggles... Using a good eye takes from the treasure within the heart and gives it out freely to others: "The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil" (Matt. 12:35). There never is a risk that true compassion may be given away without warrant from heaven. In the future judgment to come, I'd rather be found guilty of "casting pearls before swine" than to be found guilty of withholding love from others...
A person with a "good eye" looks at things from the perspective of love. It beholds all circumstances -- and especially other people -- and invariably finds something worthy and beautiful.... "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully" (2 Cor. 9:6). As we give, so we are given... Therefore the "Torah of a Good Eye" (תּוֹרָה שֶׁל עַיִן טוֹבָה) teaches that "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" (Phil 4:8).
Daily Dvar Podcast:
Torah of the Good Eye...
Shalom chaverim. The way we choose to see is ultimately a spiritual decision. In this "Daily Dvar broadcast, I discuss the "Torah of the Good Eye" and the spiritual need to seek goodness in everyday reality. I hope you will find it helpful.
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