parshaמפרשי הפרשה

רבינו בחיי — ראה אנכי נתן לפניכם

ראה אנכי נתן לפניכם — why the abrupt shift from singular ראה to plural לפניכם in the same six words?

אמר ראה בלשון יחיד ולפניכם בלשון רבים, כי משה ידבר עם הכל — עם היחידים ועם ההמון. ולפי שהברכה והקללה נאצלין משתי מדות שבהן נברא העולם, והן מדת הדין ומדת רחמים, שאין ענינם נגלה רק ליחידים המשכילים, לכך אמר ראה בלשון יחיד, והוא ראיה בעין השכל... ולפי שהברכה והקללה הם זרוז להמון בקיום המצות והפחדם בעברם עליהן, לכך דבר עם ההמון ואמר לפניכם.

1 source · all verified

Opens as a working sheet — explore, annotate, and export.

Source 1 · Rishonim
Verified

רבינו בחיי

רבנו בחיי, דברים י״א:כ״ו

Rabbeinu Bahya, Devarim 11:26

Q — ראה אנכי נתן לפניכם — why the abrupt shift from singular ראה to plural לפניכם in the same six words?

A — Rabbeinu Bachya catches the number-mismatch and reads it as a deliberate split addressed simultaneously to two audiences. The singular ראה is for the yachidim — those few who can see with the inner eye, who grasp that bracha and klalah are not external administrative rewards but actually flow from the two cosmic middos through which the world was created (din and rachamim). For them, the verse is an invitation to contemplative vision. The plural לפניכם is for the rabim — the masses, who do not need to perceive the metaphysics, but do need the practical motivation of here is reward, here is punishment, choose. Moshe simultaneously speaks to the philosopher and to the crowd, with no need to choose between them, because the same single phrase carries both messages: each listener hears what he is calibrated to hear. RBB sees this same yachid/rabim coding elsewhere — ראה למדתי אתכם חקים — where ראה (sing.) goes with chukim (mysteries known only to yachidim) and אתכם (pl.) goes with mishpatim (given to the multitude).

אמר ראה בלשון יחיד ולפניכם בלשון רבים, כי משה ידבר עם הכל — עם היחידים ועם ההמון. ולפי שהברכה והקללה נאצלין משתי מדות שבהן נברא העולם, והן מדת הדין ומדת רחמים, שאין ענינם נגלה רק ליחידים המשכילים, לכך אמר ראה בלשון יחיד, והוא ראיה בעין השכל... ולפי שהברכה והקללה הם זרוז להמון בקיום המצות והפחדם בעברם עליהן, לכך דבר עם ההמון ואמר לפניכם.

Related sheets

Halachaהלכה

The Domestic Table as Sacred Space

Jewish sources establish the household table as a continuation of the Mishkan's table of showbread, linking domestic meals to Temple service through laws of respect, blessing, and the presence of bread. The table thus becomes a venue where divine blessing can rest and where ordinary eating is elevated to sacred practice.

View Sources49 sources
Halachaהלכה

Kashrut Laws for Uncertain Food Sources

These sources establish the halakhic principles governing the consumption of food whose preparation, handling, or origin cannot be reliably verified. They address testimony about food preparation, the status of food from untrusted sources, mixtures of permitted and forbidden substances, and the evidentiary standards required before eating potentially non-kosher food.

View Sources46 sources
Machshavaמחשבה

Learning and Action in Jewish Practice

Jewish sources debate whether Torah study or practical observance holds greater importance, ultimately concluding that study is supreme because it leads to proper action. The texts present learning and doing as inseparable: study without practice is incomplete, yet study is valued as the means by which Jews understand and fulfill the commandments.

View Sources38 sources
Otherכללי

Sukkah Obligation on a Ship

Sukkot

Sources discuss whether a sukkah built on a ship is structurally valid and whether a ship itself qualifies as a stable dwelling place for sukkah purposes. The sources examine the distinction between a sukkah's physical validity and the separate question of whether travel by ship exempts one from the obligation.

View Sources32 sources
Machshavaמחשבה

Agricultural Cycles and Divine Service

Jewish sources explore how the rhythms of the agricultural year—planting, growth, harvest, and rest—serve as mirrors for spiritual practice and devotion to God. From the Torah's festival cycles to rabbinic and mystical teachings, these sources illustrate how natural processes embody and reinforce principles of divine worship.

View Sources29 sources
Israelארץ ישראל

The Enduring Holiness of Jerusalem

Sources from Scripture, Talmud, and medieval rabbinic authorities explore Jerusalem's sanctity—both its historical significance as the site of the Temple and its continuing spiritual importance for Jewish prayer and practice today. The sources affirm that Jerusalem's kedusha (holiness) remains central to Jewish law and devotion even after the Temple's destruction.

View Sources29 sources