Dear Friends,
Be careful with what you see. It may not be accurate.
We like to think that what we see – or think we see – is the real deal. “I saw it with my own eyes!” one might exclaim, to authenticate the veracity of their experience. Is “Seeing is believing,” so true?
Yet, we know that witnessing something – or thinking that we are witnessing something – is not always the best encounter of an experience. The sun could be in one’s eyes, their vision could be impaired, they could be tired. There are myriad factors which may encumber one’s observed truth.
How many defense attorneys have challenged the reporting of a witness on the basis of faulty vision?
Thus, when we read in this week’s Torah portion that “Balak, son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites…” (Numbers 22:2) and was alarmed and afraid of the Israelites, we might ask: “What did Balak see?” Or, “Did Balak really see the true depiction of the Israelites?” Could he have been alarmed in advance, and was looking for a rationale to initiate a conflict?
Seeing does not always lead to believing. Nor should it.
Rather, seeing should be one means by which we understand an experience, phenomenologically. There are many other avenues to understanding and to learning. We can listen, and we can study. We can reflect and look again. But simply seeing leads to seeing simply, and that more often leads to acting and reacting poorly.
We are living in a time of heightened tensions in America and worldwide. Anti-Semitism is up. Xenophobia is rising again. Racism is burgeoning. Partisanism is strong, and many are vilifying others for simple and superficial reasons. Economic disparities are generating distrust and divides.
It is a time when one might trip over one’s own eyelashes, and think that one sees clearly. But, that can be dangerous.
In such times, it is much, much wiser to see through someone else’s eyes, than to rely on one’s own eyes.
Balak did not take such counsel, and when he sought to bring a curse on Israel, he was cursed, instead. Had he seen the Israelites as neighbors and partners, he could have shared in a mutual blessing.
But, he only saw what he saw.
Let’s look more carefully, especially now!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
Be careful with what you see. It may not be accurate.
We like to think that what we see – or think we see – is the real deal. “I saw it with my own eyes!” one might exclaim, to authenticate the veracity of their experience. Is “Seeing is believing,” so true?
Yet, we know that witnessing something – or thinking that we are witnessing something – is not always the best encounter of an experience. The sun could be in one’s eyes, their vision could be impaired, they could be tired. There are myriad factors which may encumber one’s observed truth.
How many defense attorneys have challenged the reporting of a witness on the basis of faulty vision?
Thus, when we read in this week’s Torah portion that “Balak, son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites…” (Numbers 22:2) and was alarmed and afraid of the Israelites, we might ask: “What did Balak see?” Or, “Did Balak really see the true depiction of the Israelites?” Could he have been alarmed in advance, and was looking for a rationale to initiate a conflict?
Seeing does not always lead to believing. Nor should it.
Rather, seeing should be one means by which we understand an experience, phenomenologically. There are many other avenues to understanding and to learning. We can listen, and we can study. We can reflect and look again. But simply seeing leads to seeing simply, and that more often leads to acting and reacting poorly.
We are living in a time of heightened tensions in America and worldwide. Anti-Semitism is up. Xenophobia is rising again. Racism is burgeoning. Partisanism is strong, and many are vilifying others for simple and superficial reasons. Economic disparities are generating distrust and divides.
It is a time when one might trip over one’s own eyelashes, and think that one sees clearly. But, that can be dangerous.
In such times, it is much, much wiser to see through someone else’s eyes, than to rely on one’s own eyes.
Balak did not take such counsel, and when he sought to bring a curse on Israel, he was cursed, instead. Had he seen the Israelites as neighbors and partners, he could have shared in a mutual blessing.
But, he only saw what he saw.
Let’s look more carefully, especially now!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn