Parashat Re’eh: 5 Commentaries on One Powerful Verse

What does it mean to do what is “good and right” in the eyes of Hashem? Is observing the commandments enough, or does the Torah ask us to develop a broader sensitivity to what is right, both in our relationship with Hashem and in the way we treat others?

In this week’s parsha, Parashat Re’eh, the Torah gives us a powerful instruction that addresses these questions:

“Keep and heed all these words that I command you, so that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, because you will do what is good and right in the eyes of Hashem, your God.” (Deuteronomy 12:28)

What exactly are we being commanded to “keep and heed,” and what does it mean to do what is “good and right”? Here is how Rashi, Siftei Chachamim, Ibn Ezra, Ramban, and Baal HaTurim explain this verse.

Rashi’s Commentary

Rashi explains each part of the verse:

“Keep” — This refers to Mishnah, which you must retain within yourself so that you do not forget it, as it is stated: “For it is pleasant when you keep them within you” (Proverbs 22:18). If you review what you have learned, you will be able to heed and fulfill it. After all, anyone who is not included in Mishnah is not included in action (Sifrei 79).

In other words, Torah learning must be retained and reviewed because knowledge is what enables a person to put the Torah into practice.

“All these words” — A minor mitzvah should be as precious to you as a major mitzvah (Sifrei, ibid.).

“What is good” — In the eyes of Heaven.

“And right” — In the eyes of people.

Rashi’s explanation teaches that serving Hashem involves both dimensions: doing what is good before Hashem and behaving in a way that is right in our relationships with other people.

Siftei Chachamim

Siftei Chachamim explains that if a person has not learned, how can he know how to act?

This helps explain why the verse emphasizes the need to “keep and heed.” Torah study provides the knowledge necessary to fulfill the commandments properly.

Siftei Chachamim also asks why the Torah does not simply say, “these words that I command you,” which would seemingly include everything.

The additional wording teaches that the Torah expects a person to go beyond specific commands and pursue what is right and good. One example is the laws of bar metzra, which are based on the broader Torah principle of doing what is right and good.

Ibn Ezra and Ramban

Ibn Ezra explains the words “Keep and heed” as referring to the blood that is poured on the altar.

Ramban, meanwhile, focuses on the Torah’s unusual choice of words:

“Keep and heed all these words” — The verse does not say “statutes and laws” or “His testimonies and commandments.” Instead, it says “all these words.”

According to Ramban, this language is intended to include the obligation to observe both what is “good” and what is “right,” as he previously explained in Parashat Va’etchanan.

The Torah is therefore not speaking only about a defined list of individual commandments. It also establishes a broader standard for how a Jew should conduct himself.

Baal HaTurim

On the words “Keep and heed,” Baal HaTurim cites the teaching: “An uncultivated person does not fear sin, and an ignoramus is not pious.”

Once again, Torah knowledge and proper conduct are closely connected. A person must learn in order to understand how to live according to Hashem’s will.

Baal HaTurim also points to the placement of the words “because you will do what is good and right in the eyes of Hashem” next to the words “for He will cut off.”

From this connection, he teaches that only righteous people who do what is good and right should go out to war.

Taken together, these commentaries reveal the depth hidden within a single verse. “Keep and heed” requires learning, remembering, and ultimately putting Torah into practice. But the verse goes even further. A Jew is called upon not only to fulfill individual commandments, but to develop the judgment and sensitivity to seek what is good before Hashem and what is right toward other people.