A bit of background, for those new to this: This week's parsha (the weekly Torah portion reading in the synagogue) is Re'eh (Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17). The overall theme of this week's parsha is the last speech of Moses, in which he instructs the Israelites about idolatry, false prophets, clean and unclean foods, tithes, freeing slaves, and the pilgrimage festivals.
In addition to the parsha, a second portion (called the haftarah) from the the prophets is read during Shabbat morning services. For the seven weeks before Rosh Hashanah, the haftarah is from Isaiah [this week's is Isaiah 54:11-55:5], and the series is called the haftorat of consolation; they are part of the introspective season leading to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Once again, I've collected a series of quotations that I find thought provoking from various authors I read regularly for their Torah commentary.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks:
If you seek to understand Judaism's social vision, look at its anti-poverty legislation.
If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your G-d is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tight-fisted toward your poor brother. Rather be open-handed and freely lend him sufficient for his needs in that which he lacks. Be careful not to harbour this wicked thought: "The seventh year, the year for cancelling debts, is near," so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your G-d will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open-handed toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land. (Deut 15: 7-11)
Ostensibly the passage is about the cancellation of debts in the seventh year (shemittah, the year of "release"). The oral tradition, however, extended it to the laws of tzedakah - the word usually translated as "charity" but which also means "distributive justice, equity". The rabbis interpreted the phrase "sufficient for his needs" to mean the basic requirements of existence: food, clothing, shelter and so on. "That which he lacks" was understood as referring to a person who was previously wealthy but has now become impoverished. He too must be helped to recover his dignity....
This double aspect is evident throughout the laws of tzedakah. On the one hand, they are directed to the brute fact of poverty. No one must be deprived of basic physical necessities. On the other, they address with astonishing sensitivity the psychology of poverty. It demeans, embarrasses, humiliates, shames. Tzedakah, ruled the rabbis, must be given in such a way as to minimize these feelings.
Another year, Rabbi Sacks wrote about how, despite the name of this week's parsha Re'eh meaning to see, Judaism is about hearing and words:
Judaism's answer is that G-d is found, first and foremost, not in the blinding light of the sun, nor in the majesty of mountains. He is not in the almost infinitely vast spaces of the universe, with its hundreds of billions of galaxies, each with hundreds of billions of stars. He is not even in the letters of the genetic code that give all life its structure and diversity. If this is where you seek G-d, says Judaism, you are looking in the wrong place. Indeed the mistake you are making consists in the very fact that you are looking at all.
G-d is to be found not by looking but by listening. He lives in words - the words He spoke to the patriarchs and matriarchs, prophets and priests; ultimately in the words of the Torah itself - the words though which we are to interpret all other words.
Why is G-d revealed in words? Because words are what makes us persons. Language makes homo sapiens unique. Because we have language, we can think. We can stand back, reflectively, from the data provided by our senses. We can ask questions. Human beings are the only species known to us in the universe capable of asking the question, Why?
Because we can speak as well as see, we can imagine a universe unlike the one we have seen every day until now. We can dream dreams, imagine alternatives, sketch utopias, formulate plans, construct intentions. Because of language - and only because of language - we are free and therefore morally responsible agents.
Rabbi Jay Kelman:
The Sefer Hachinuch [written anonymously in 13th century Spain, it explains the 613 mitzvot {commandments} of the Torah] emphasizes over and over again that mitzvoth are to help develop within us the traits of kindness, compassion, and empathy. In the performance of mitzvoth, others will benefit; but the obligation begins with the need to develop our character. The constant refrain of the Torah to help the widow, orphan, and stranger, because we were strangers in the land of Egypt, is directed not so much to the needs of the underprivileged but to those capable of helping. Man is naturally selfish, and tends to view world events through the prism of how they might impact on his or her life. The beauty of helping others is that it makes us feel good, thereby strengthening the bond between us.
Rabbi Yehuda Hausman, on whether humans have a spiritual 'sixth sense':
We know when a sermon sets the heart alight. We know when an old synagogue melody stirs the wind in our chest. The true test is tuning it, evolving it, so that we begin to listen for holiness not on the rare occasion but every day amid the mayhem of our lives. This task is far from easy..... one might slowly come to sense the sacred in everyday acts of kindness or kinship. One might learn that there is a vast difference in feeling between beseeching God and simply mouthing the words. In this way, bit by bit, cracks of holiness, felt here and there, are widened into chasms through which spirituality pours. C.S. Lewis once said: “You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.” The soul is not a part of us; it is us. What we do for it, we do for ourselves.
As the High Holy Days approach, do yourself a favor: Let the soul listen, let it see, let it discern, and let it sift ... and when it finds the holiness about you — which is really within you — be sure to clasp its hand and pull the holiness from the flames. Lift and be lifted; listen and be moved.
On the haftarah:
Isaiah's prophecy in the haftarah selection for Re’eh focuses on how the downtrodden Israelites will once again rise to glory. Their buildings will be made of precious stones, their children will be raised in peace, and their cities will be safe. God reminds the people that no harm can come to them without His consent. If He decides that they will be strengthened and restored, this will happen. Isaiah promises that with the God's help, the people of Israel will be invincible.
In the second half of the haftarah, God continues in the same vein, but adds a stipulation: the people must turn to Him in order to reap the rewards He promises. "Give heed to Me, and you shall eat choice food and enjoy the richest dishes" (55:2). God promises that just as He brought David up from his common roots, and made him royalty, so shall the people be lifted out of their destitute situation.