Friday, August 7, 2026/25 Av 5786

Friday, August 7, 2026/25 Av 5786

Parashat Re’eh, Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17

Third haftarah of consolation, Isaiah 54:11-55:5

Dear TBE Community,

I will be honest: Even as a rabbi, as someone who loves learning and teaching, for whom it feels natural to respect Torah and find interesting aspects in every portion, writing about Parashat Re’eh often feels like a performance of duty rather than a labor of love. The exception was maybe last year, when I felt inspired to link a scam I fell for with the admonition about false prophets. But especially as a still-pretty-newly-minted rabbi, my ambition is not to write about the same subject two years in a row, even though the theme of false prophecy remains interesting. So maybe next year again!

Parashat Re’eh, like so much of Deuteronomy, with its stern repetitions — follow God’s laws and blessings will come; don’t follow God’s laws and you will pay bitterly — often falls flat. Maybe if we, if I, were steadfast and unwavering in our faith in God’s ways, this might feel different. Then I could really believe in and find comfort in this black-and-white partition. For that matter, it’s not that pious people don’t see that life doesn’t always pan out according to this pattern. They, too, grieve and struggle with losses and failures that feel unjust and undeserved. But they might find consolation more easily, ultimately relying on God’s unknowable wisdom. And while that might sound Christian, there is also a Jewish version: Hashem has a plan. B’yado afkid ruchi.

I do find comfort in entrusting my spirit to God’s hand. I believe that there is an order, a balance in the universe, and I believe that there are insights and things we can’t—yet? —know, or that we sometimes intuit — or see — in a split second. At the same time, the simplicity of the consequences of blessings and curses challenges me every year. I try to understand the purpose and function of the book of Deuteronomy, which, by most scholars’ consensus, is the latest-composed—and thus the youngest—of the five books of Torah: It aims to solidify the agenda of a certain group, to cement the building of a theocracy according to their partisan platform, and to anchor it within the early, formative chapters of the Israelite nation. To implement the legal code that lies at the core of all of Deuteronomy.

And there’s nothing wrong with aspiring to follow God’s ways as much as possible. It is good to be a good person. Inevitably, eventually, there will always come a moment at which that aspiration meets or collides with the aspirations of others who might be following other gods, or simply their own interpretation of divine instructions.

And that’s where my hesitation about Re’eh kicks in—for some reason, Re’eh always feels like a stand-in for all of Deuteronomy’s theology, though arguably other parashiyot are even more adamant in their message, or rather, less focused on joy and community, as Re’eh ultimately also is.

Be that as it may, Re’eh’s and Deuteronomy’s line of argumentation sometimes leaves me at a loss. Because it enables stern theocratic zealots in their black-and-white thinking and actions. Because it reveals the undefined, the weak aspects of my own theology. When it’s not poetic and intellectual, not heimish and feel-good, how do we relate to Torah? To God? I personally don’t like simply taking out, ignoring, or condemning ancient language that doesn’t resonate with me, and I am not a fan of whitewashing, as many medieval commentators like to do, or of trying to find a modern spin at all costs, as many contemporary peers like to do. But then what do I do?

My uncertainty makes my theology vulnerable, and sometimes I don’t know what to answer. Do I believe the Jews should be blessed in the land? Of course. But do I condone the ways some of them behave in the land and justify their actions precisely through their adherence to divine laws? Of course not. But when we declare adherence to divine laws obsolete or zealous, what does that mean for the entire construct of Judaism and the continuation of the Jewish nation? For me personally, Judaism is not just another form of spirituality. Judaism is an ethno/cultural religion.

Representing, living, and loving Judaism often means struggling with unresolved, inconsistent feelings and opinions that can leave a taste of incompletion, of falling short. Sometimes I wish life, religious living was as clean cut as standing on Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, back in Parashat Re’eh. Do this, blessings. Do that, curses. And then I am always relieved that precisely it is not that easy or black and white. That there are loopholes and leniencies; rachmones – mercy, empathy, compassion. That the struggle makes us attentive to the feelings, opinions, arguments, and needs of others. And that brings comfort and blessings.

Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Julia Knobloch

More Torah Tidbits

Hadas Cootware

Torah School Coordinator

Hadas Cootware has been teaching Hebrew and Jewish Studies for over a decade, joining our Temple Beth El Community in 2018. Born and raised in Israel with Hebrew as her native language, she previously served as a combat soldier and operations officer in the IDF. Drawing on her studies in acting and psychology, she published a children’s book in Hebrew, The Marshmallow Story, which focuses on delayed gratification. Outside of teaching, she is the proud mother of her son, Henry, and loves to travel.

TBEtorahschool@bethelsp.org

Ilan Davidson

Cantor

Cantor Ilan Davidson has been pleasing audiences with his singing since before he could read. At age five, he began singing with his Cantor, Philip Moddel, and hasn’t shut up since. At ten, he made his Operatic debut with the Fullerton Civic Light Opera’s production of Bizet’s Carmen, as a street urchin. Since then, he has performed roles in opera and musical theatre, performing, directing, and producing world-class productions.

Among his many accomplishments, Cantor Davidson is also known as a contemporary Jewish songwriter and performer, having delighted audiences all over the world, including Israel and Lithuania with the soulful sounds of his music. His recordings, Stained Glass (1995) and In A Hanukkah Mood (2007) are collections of original and covered songs by himself and many contemporary Jewish artists. His most recent recording, God Is In This Place (2020), is a collection of original liturgical pieces for the Friday night Shabbat Service, commissioned and written in honor of his 25th Anniversary as the Cantor of Temple Beth El.

Cantor Davidson left the stage and in 1995 joined the Temple Beth El family, in San Pedro, where, in his nearly 30 years of service, he has brought many new programs and much enthusiasm to all he does. Coming from a long line of Cantors, it must have been Besheret for Cantor Davidson, although talented in all areas of musical performance, to finally settle down into his career as Hazzan for Temple Beth El in San Pedro, California. In 2007, Cantor Davidson founded a new foundation, KindredSPIRITS, producing an annual world humanitarian aid event. KindredSPIRITS premiered on June 5, 2008 at Walt Disney Concert Hall, adding that prestigious concert hall to the ever growing list of venues around the world, where Davidson has performed. During the 10 years of humanitarian events, Global KindredSPIRITS, Inc., as an official 501©3, raised awareness and close to $500,000 for its beneficiaries over the decade.
As a past president of the South Coast Interfaith Council, Ilan fought for tolerance and understanding of ALL faiths in a difficult climate. For the past 7 years, Cantor Davidson has been service as an LA County Commissioner, representing the 4th District on the Human Relations Commission, where he currently serves as President. Whether it is raising his voice for justice, Hazzanut, Pop, Opera, Musical Theatre, or folk music, Cantor Ilan Davidson shares his soul and genuine love in every note.

When asked about his finest accomplishment, Cantor Ilan invariably responds, “After all the great concerts, services, and roles, my finest role in life is that of husband to my beautiful wife, Jodi, and daddy to my gorgeous daughters, Jordan and Zoe.”

cantor@bethelsp.org

Office: (310) 833-2467 Ext. 106

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