A unique opening
This week’s Torah portion, Re'eh, opens with the classic choice presented to Israel: "See, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments... and the curse, if you do not obey" (Deut. 11:26-28). In earlier portions like ‘Bechukotai’ and ‘Ki Tavo’, blessings and curses in the structure of “if-then” are detailed in concrete material terms - timely rain, rich harvests, livestock fertility, peace, and sovereignty versus drought, agricultural failure, disease, and insecurity. The Hebrew root for curse (k-l-l) connects to "lightness": that which should be heavy and substantial gradually loses its weight, strength, and economic stability.
How can economic abundance be managed so it does not decompose national cohesion?
(Photo: ONE)
However, Re'eh noticeably omits these explicit descriptions of material consequences. Instead of detailing physical retribution, the Torah moves straight to the covenant ceremony at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, that will be described in more detail in chapter 27, and to the command to observe God's laws upon entering the Land.
Differentiating two languages of curse: A-R-R vs. K-L-L
A structural analysis of the ceremony at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal reveals two distinct concepts of curses. The twelve declarations recited by the Levites all begin with the word ARuR ("Cursed be he who..."). Though commonly translated identically to k-l-l, the root a-r-r expresses a fundamentally different phenomenon.
Throughout Genesis, a-r-r signifies a structural disruption to the foundations of existence: The serpent is “ARuA” above all beasts; the ground is “arurah”, yielding thorns and thistles instead of effortless fruit; Cain is “ARuR”, losing his bond to the earth to become a restless wanderer; Canaan is designated “ARuR” as a slave, deprived of self-determination. “ARiRah” is not a localized, momentary penalty or economic decline. It fractures core relationships: between man and soil, labor and fruit, identity and place.
Similarly, in Numbers 22–24, Balak asks Balaam: "Come now, curse (“ARah”) this people for me..." (Num. 22:6). Balak understood that for a nation in the wilderness sustained by manna, economic reduction or recession (k-l-l) was irrelevant. His target was the foundational infrastructure of Israel's national existence - tribal unity, family structure, spiritual leadership, and divine partnership. Crucially, the root k-l-l is absent from that entire narrative.
As the Talmud explains (Sanhedrin 105b), because God had turned Balaam’s curses into blessing, Balaam's intent is visible through his vision: "How goodly are your tents, O Jacob" (civic and familial integrity); "Like streams stretched out" (fertility and continuity); "The LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them" (divine presence and governance). It seems that Balaam aimed to dismantle Israel's institutions and solidarity. Therefore when his external curses failed, he advised enticing Israel through the daughters of Moab, attempting to induce internal unraveling of family units and covenantal loyalty.
Building social Infrastructure
This highlights the central innovation of our Torah reading. Rather than repeating the material promises of Bechukotai or Ki-Tavo, Re'eh addresses a vital question: How can economic abundance be managed so it does not decompose national cohesion?
Knowing that material abundance creates a strong society, but it can also widen gaps, empower landowners at the expense of the landless, and turn wealth into private property hidden behind high walls, the Torah establishes institutional stanchions. The Torah commands the establishment of a Central Place of Worship (Temple in Jerusalem) which unifies the tribes around a single national center. In addition, as part of Tithes (Ma'aser) rules landowners must eat part of their produce in Jerusalem. This transforms private yield into shared joy and identity, while sharing abundance with the Levite, convert, orphan, and widow.
The Torah also establishes the Sabbatical Year (Shemittah) and cancels debts every seven years. Preventing temporary financial hardship from becoming permanent subjugation, helps open an opportunity for agency, making citizens more proactive and prone to take initiative. And, the Torah does not only mandate the release of Hebrew slaves after six years of service; it also obligates the master to give the slave a new beginning by granting him a gift from all the wealth with which the master has been blessed with. These institutions counteract the ARuR curses of Mount Ebal by turning private success into a framework of shared responsibility and foundations for broader prosperity.