Re'eh 5786: Today's the Day!

GOOD MORNING! Those who lived in Miami Beach in the 1970’s-90’s will likely remember Mark’s Quality Cleaners, a dry cleaner located on 20th Street. They had a HUGE drive-up counter (it must have spanned 20 feet or more) and they were famous for their same-day promise: “In by 10 out by 5.”

Because most dry cleaners send their laundry to a central facility to be cleaned, it usually takes a couple days to get your clothes back. By contrast, Mark’s had all their machines on site and had the ability to get it back to you the same day. It was a huge competitive advantage and they prospered – there were hardly any other dry cleaners on Miami Beach in those days.

As a child, I remember seeing an exceptionally large sign hanging on the back wall next all the machines and hot presses; “Not Mañana – Do It Today!!!” Because of that sign I associated the concept of taking care of tasks immediately with having a successful business.

Similarly, someone gave me a book of Aesop’s Fables for my bar mitzvah; a 2,500-year-old collection of short moral tales with talking animals that teach lessons about human behavior. One is the story about the grasshopper and the ant.

In brief, all summer when food was abundant, the ant toiled to collect food while the grasshopper spent his time dancing and singing. When winter came the ant was safely underground where he was warm and had plentiful stores of food. The starving grasshopper went looking for the ant and begged him for food, but the ant refused. The lesson being “don’t be lazy; prepare now for the future.”

As is usually the case with truisms of life, Jewish works on philosophy said it first and more profoundly. In the book of Proverbs – the ethical work dedicated to character improvement penned by King Solomon four centuries before Aesop’s Fables – we find: “Look to the ant, O’ lazy one, and consider her ways, and be wise. [The ant] which has no officer, overseer, or ruler, and yet provides her bread in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest. How long will you sleep, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?” (Proverbs 6:6-9).

The 13th century sage Rabbeinu Bachye ibn Asher, a well-known Torah commentator, always introduces the weekly Torah portion with a verse from Proverbs and uses it as a theme for his commentary. The verse he chose for this week’s Torah portion is, “The lazy will not plow because of the cold; therefore, shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.”

He explains that it is part of human nature to resort to inaction, and that there are four areas in life in which people are lazy: 1) laziness in one’s home; he cites the example of a leak in a person’s roof – if you ignore it when it’s small then eventually you will have to replace the entire roof and lose ALL your money (proving that roofers haven’t changed much in 800 years) 2) laziness when it comes to the body; not eating or exercising properly, which leads to physical deterioration 3) laziness regarding one’s soul; neglecting to improve oneself, and 4) laziness in Torah, mitzvos, and good deeds; hesitation leads to apathy and disinterest.

King Solomon – who clearly had a lot to say about the virtues of diligence and the evils of laziness – later in Proverbs (26:13) makes a rather enigmatic statement: “A lazy person says there is a lion in the road.” 

On the surface this is very strange: If there is truly a lion in the road then he is not lazy – he’s being prudent because it is dangerous to venture outside. If there is no lion in the road, then he is not lazy – he’s delusional. Why would King Solomon characterize him as lazy?

The answer is that there is no lion – the lazy person will find any excuse he can not to do something and he will treat it as an insurmountable (or even a dangerous) obstacle. Lazy people find excuses while motivated people find solutions.

One of the greatest dangers of laziness is that it rarely announces itself dramatically. It creeps in through small compromises: delaying a task until tomorrow, choosing entertainment over learning, or settling for mediocrity rather than striving for excellence. Each individual decision seems insignificant, yet together they shape habits, and habits ultimately determine character. Excellence is rarely the product of extraordinary moments; it is usually the accumulation of ordinary acts performed consistently. Likewise, failure is often the result of small acts of neglect repeated over time.

Laziness also has a deceptive quality. As comedian Steven Wright points out, “Hard work pays off in the future, laziness pays off right now.” Laziness promises comfort in the present, however it often produces greater discomfort in the future. The work postponed does not disappear; it accumulates and usually gets magnified. In this sense, laziness is paradoxical: it seeks to avoid pain but ultimately creates more of it.

The antidote to laziness is not simply working harder, but rather focusing on purpose and discipline. Purpose addresses why effort matters, while discipline enables action even when motivation is sometimes absent. People who consistently accomplish meaningful goals are not always the most talented or the most inspired; they are often those who have learned to act according to principle rather than impulse. They understand that motivation is fleeting, but habits can be dependable.

Ultimately, laziness is less about inactivity than about unrealized potential. Every individual possesses God-given talents, a variety of opportunities, and responsibilities that only they can fulfill. To neglect those gifts is to diminish not only oneself but also the contributions one might have made to others. Overcoming laziness is therefore more than a matter of productivity, it is the realization that a meaningful life is built one deliberate act of effort at a time.

I believe Rabbeinu Bachye chose the theme of laziness because this week’s Torah portion opens with, “See, I place before you today blessing and curse” (Deuteronomy 11:26).

At first glance, the opening word, “re’eh – see,” seems entirely out of place. Moses is not directing the nation to observe anything visible. There is no dramatic spectacle unfolding before them. Rather, he is informing them of a future event: the blessings and curses that will later be proclaimed on Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Eval after they enter the Land of Israel.

Indeed, many commentators are bothered by the Torah’s use of the word “see.” Had the Torah wished merely to communicate information, the more natural expression would have been “shema – hear” or “tishme’u – listen.” Why does the Torah use the language of sight?

My brilliant father Rabbi Yochanan Zweig suggests that the Torah is teaching a profound truth about how human beings process reality. Hearing and seeing represent two fundamentally different modes of understanding.

There are many ideas that a person must understand intellectually. Such truths require careful listening, contemplation, and analysis. Accordingly, throughout the Torah we find the language of hearing: “Shema Yisrael – Hear O Israel.” Hearing is the gateway to comprehension.

Seeing, however, accomplishes something entirely different. A person may understand an idea perfectly and yet remain completely unmoved by it. We know countless facts that have little impact on how we live. We may know that exercise promotes health, that kindness strengthens relationships, and that anger destroys them. Yet knowledge alone rarely transforms behavior.

Vision is different. Something that is seen becomes immediate, concrete, and emotionally compelling. It is no longer an abstract proposition but a lived reality. Seeing a person lose weight by walking each day, a friend bringing dinner to someone having a hard time, the neighbors constant fighting leading to the divorce – it all feels more real. Seeing overrides the gap between intellect and action. This distinction explains a famous teaching of our sages: “Who is wise? One who sees what will be born” (Ethics of Our Fathers 2:9).

The sages could have simply said, “One who understands future consequences.” Instead, they deliberately choose the verb “sees.” Wisdom is the capacity to visualize the future so vividly that it influences present choices.

We all know there are consequences to our actions. The difficulty lies not in ignorance but in immediacy. The pleasure of the moment is tangible; the consequence remains distant and abstract. Consequently, present desires overwhelm future realities. The person who sees only today will always delay until tomorrow. However, the person who sees tomorrow acts today.

The wise person brings tomorrow into today. Before speaking hurtful words, he already sees the damaged relationship. Likewise, before choosing generosity, patience, or discipline, he sees the blessings those choices will ultimately produce. This is precisely why Moses begins with the word “Re’eh.” He is instructing us to make the future so vivid in our minds that it governs our present decisions.

In many respects, this is the defining quality of maturity. A child lives almost entirely in the present. An adult learns to delay gratification because he can envision future rewards. A truly wise person extends that vision even further, perceiving not only material outcomes but spiritual ones as well.

Perhaps this is why the verse concludes with “hayom – today.” Although blessings and curses often unfold gradually, the choice itself always occurs in the present moment. Every decision we make today contains within it the seeds of tomorrow. The future is not created suddenly; it is born from countless present choices.

Re'eh, Deuteronomy 11:26 - 16:17

This week is a jam-packed portion. It begins with a choice: “I set before you a blessing and a curse. The blessing: if you obey the commandments of God […]; the curse if you do not […] and you follow other gods.” 

The portion continues with rules and laws for the Land of Israel, primarily oriented towards staying away from idol worship and the other religions in the land. In verses 13:1-12 you will find the section that caused a missionary’s face to blanch and silenced him from continuing to proselytize a renowned rabbi.

One of the indications of the existence and necessity of the Oral Torah – an explanation and clarification (later redacted as the Talmud) of the written Torah (The Five Books of Moses) – comes from verse 12:21, “You will slaughter animals […] according to the manner I (God) have prescribed.” Nowhere in the Torah are we instructed in the manner of shechita, ritual slaughter. One might conclude that there was a very sloppy editor. Or one might conclude that there are additional teachings (the Oral Law/Talmud) clarifying and amplifying the written Word.

The source of the Chosen People concept is brought this week: “You are a nation consecrated to God your Lord. God has chosen you from all nations on the face of the earth to be His own special nation” (Deuteronomy 14:1-2). We are chosen for responsibility, not privilege – to act morally and to be a “light unto the nations.”

The portion then gives instructions regarding: permitted and forbidden foods, the Second Tithe, remissions of loans every 7 years, treatment of those in need (to be warm-hearted and open-handed), a Jewish bondsman, and the three pilgrimage festivals (Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot).