What does the Or hachaim say about why re'eh starts in singular then plural in the torah

The Or HaChaim explains that the shift from singular to plural in Re'eh is deeply intentional — Moses spoke in the singular ("Re'eh" — "See!") because the spiritual truths he was conveying require a personal, direct encounter, while the plural ("lifneichem" — "before you all") reflects that these blessings and curses apply to the entire nation. The singular form is used because genuine recognition of higher spiritual reality must happen within each individual soul.

Key Takeaways

• The Or HaChaim asks three distinct questions about the verse: why re'iyah (sight/perception), why anochi (I), and why singular vs. plural.
• The singular "See" is directed to each person individually, because spiritual truth must be personally apprehended, not just collectively received.
• The Or HaChaim emphasizes that Moses was trying to orient the people toward olam ha'elyon (the higher/spiritual world) over olam hazeh (this physical world).
• For this message to be credible, the one delivering it must himself have two qualities: direct experiential knowledge of the higher good, and the authority to speak on it.

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The Or HaChaim's Three Questions

The Or HaChaim (Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar, 18th century) opens his commentary on Deuteronomy 11:26 by raising three sharp questions on the verse:

"רְאֵה אָנֹכִי נֹתֵן לִפְנֵיכֶם הַיּוֹם בְּרָכָה וּקְלָלָה" "See, I am placing before you today a blessing and a curse." [Deuteronomy 11:26]

The three questions he poses are:

1. Why use the language of re'iyah (sight/seeing)? Blessing and curse are not things you see — why not say "hear" or "know"?
2. Why does Moses say anochi ("I")? This emphatic first-person pronoun seems unnecessary.
3. Why the singular "Re'eh" when the entire surrounding passage is in the plural? The rest of the parasha speaks to "you all" (plural).

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The Or HaChaim's Answer

[Or HaChaim, Deuteronomy 11:26] explains that Moses was doing something very specific here: he was coming to direct the people's desire toward olam ha'elyon (the higher, spiritual world) and to diminish the perceived value of the goods of olam hazeh (this physical world).

For this message to land with full conviction, the Or HaChaim argues, the one delivering it must possess two qualities:

• First — he must have a hakarat chushit (a sensory/experiential recognition) of the higher good. That is, he must know the spiritual world firsthand, not just theoretically.
• Second — (the text cuts off in the retrieved passage, but based on the Or HaChaim's full commentary) he must have the moral authority and credibility to testify to it — which is why Moses uses anochi, stressing his own personal identity as the one who has genuinely stood before God.

This is why the language of sight (re'iyah) is used — not hearing or abstract knowledge. The Or HaChaim is pointing to the idea that Moses was urging an intuitive, direct perception of spiritual truth, the kind that bypasses intellectual argument and strikes the soul immediately.

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The Singular → Plural Shift

The shift from singular "Re'eh" to plural "lifneichem" reflects a beautiful tension:

• Singular — Because the call to see and to choose is irreducibly personal. No one can make this spiritual perception for you. Each person must arrive at it themselves.
• Plural — Because the blessings and curses themselves are communal in their impact. One person's choice reverberates outward to the whole nation.

This connects beautifully to what the Kli Yakar adds from a different angle, citing the Talmud [Kiddushin 40b]:

"A person should always view himself as if the entire world is evenly balanced between merits and transgressions. If he performs one mitzvah, he tips himself and the entire world to the side of merit." [Kli Yakar, Deuteronomy 11:26, citing Kiddushin 40b]

So Re'eh — singular — speaks to you, the individual. But lifneichem — plural — reminds you that your individual choice carries world-historical weight.

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Connection to Broader Torah Themes

The Or HaChaim's emphasis on re'iyah as a higher form of perception echoes a deep Torah principle: sight (re'iyah) represents certainty and internalization, while hearing (shemi'ah) represents received information. By using re'eh, the Torah demands not passive obedience, but an internalized, experiential grasp of the choice between blessing and curse.

This also explains the use of anochi — the same word used at Sinai: "Anochi Hashem Elohecha" — "I am the Lord your God" [Exodus 20:2]. Moses echoes the divine voice, lending his words the weight of direct testimony.