Rabbi Weill's Blog

Dear Friends,

"Do not harden your heart or shut your hand," we read in Re'eh, this week's Torah portion, "against your brother."

It's a holy injunction to help one's brother, but we need to define our terms. Who is, after all, "your brother"? According to our tradition, what does "brother" ("ach" in Hebrew) refer to? Is it one's literal sibling, or could it be someone more remote? Does it refer to another Jew, or could it be anyone?

Commentators have answered this question in diverse ways. I find inspiration from the Cain and Abel story. When Cain snidely asks G-d, "Am I my brother's keeper?", the answer is obvious: "Of course you are!" Yes, Cain and Abel were actual siblings, but they also comprised half of humanity. Cain didn't realize it, but with his use of the word "brother", he embraced humanity.

 
We have brothers and sisters in our families. And we have brothers and sisters in much more remote places, people we have never seen, continents away.

If we would all but see humanity in this way, the world would be a whole lot more peaceful.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Jeffrey Weill