The Ability to Envision

This week’s portion — Re’eh — relates to our ability to envision the future and so to become a visionary. What does it mean to be a visionary? It means we are able to look forward, and to do this we must be willing to let go of that which holds us back. Often we cling to attachments from the past out of habit or a feeling of dependency; however, Re’eh reminds us that this base instinct must be overcome to progress on our spiritual journey. To engage with the future and move forward, we cannot allow ourselves to be controlled by the past. Think of it this way: to make space for new blessings, we have to spring clean our lives of all that is no longer serving us. This week’s portion of Re’eh relates to physicality: the body and the material realm. It reminds us that there is a strong connection between the physical and our spiritual vision, and so to refine our spiritual vision we must first take steps in the material world.

One way we can do this is to let go of certain material possessions. Remember, a spiritual person is committed to giving away 10% of all that they have, every physical thing we can think of. Whether that is your salary or your sandwich, we should feel able to let go of that 10%, and we should not feel reluctant or resentful about doing so. Why? Because actually this giving is of most benefit to us, not to the recipient of our 10%. A spiritual favor isn’t about the goodness of our generosity and sacrifice, it’s about cleansing the remaining 90% that we have of all contamination. In this way, giving is a route to keeping our blessings. In order to protect what we have, it’s necessary to first let go of a small portion of it. This enables us to stay dynamic and present, avoiding stagnancy, and it’s crucial to becoming a spiritual visionary, unburdened by our material possessions.

Another physical way we can move toward the status of visionary is by making good choices for our physical body. What we eat is especially important, and if you want to deeply understand the significance of kosher food then The Gate of Reincarnation by Rabbi Isaac Lurita is a recommended text. In brief, what you need to appreciate is that when a human being uses their free will badly, they are reincarnated one step below humanity as an animal. Of course, we can love and respect animals while still understanding that they are not on the same level as humanity. Certain animals are already ready to be reincarnated once again into a human, and they are what we refer to as kosher. Through the process of eating them we bless them, connecting with their souls and enabling their transcendence to the next level. This is of mutual benefit, as we are then supported by their soul to obtain great vision and clarity. This shows how a good choice in the physical realm can empower us on our spiritual path toward becoming a visionary.

An excellent choice you can make in the material world in order to further develop your vision is choosing a good teacher. A good teacher does not mean a perfect person; it means someone who has made their spiritual development the focus of their life’s work. In the Bible it was written that one of the best ways to grow spiritually is to have regular conversations with a mentor, someone who we can speak to at least once a week, if not every day, and someone whose experience can inspire and instruct us. The face of this teacher helps us to cleanse ourselves from negativity and it is a routine reminder to keep our minds open and focused on our vision. Of course, in these strange times the face of a teacher may only be seen through Zoom; however, the positive impact it has on our ability to envision the future remains the same.

This week’s portion takes us into the month of Virgo, which relates to purity and innocence. This makes sense if we consider it a moment of cleansing in preparation for the day of judgement, Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah falls on the new moon of Libra, which we know is represented by the scales. It’s a good time for us to contemplate that image and to weigh up what we are doing correctly or incorrectly both in our own eyes and in the eyes of the Divine. This is the ideal moment, then, for us to take physical steps toward refining our vision, so we know exactly what we must change in order to fulfil our spiritual potential. We wish you good luck during this important period of honest reflection and concrete action.