(יב) וְהָיָ֣ה ׀ עֵ֣קֶב תִּשְׁמְע֗וּן אֵ֤ת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים֙ הָאֵ֔לֶּה וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֥ם וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָ֑ם וְשָׁמַר֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ לְךָ֗ אֶֽת־הַבְּרִית֙ וְאֶת־הַחֶ֔סֶד אֲשֶׁ֥ר נִשְׁבַּ֖ע לַאֲבֹתֶֽיךָ׃
(12) And if you do obey these rules and observe them carefully, the LORD your God will maintain faithfully for you the covenant that He made on oath with your fathers:
ראה ראיתי. יש בכתוב הזה ג' ענינים זה למעלה מזה ראיה שמיעה ידיעה, למעלה מראיה שמיעה שהרי כח השמיעה זך ודק מכח הראיה, למעלה משתיהן ידיעה שאין השלמת הראיה או השמיעה אלא בידיעה שאם יראה אדם דבר או ישמע קול ולא ידע מה הוא הרי הוא כאלו לא ראה אותו דבר או לא שמע אותו הקול. ועל כן יבאו שני ענינים אלו בתורה במקום הבנה, שמיעה הוא שכתוב (דברים כח) גוי אשר לא תשמע לשונו, ראיה הוא שכתוב (קהלת א) ולבי ראה, והיודע דבר אע"פ שלא ראה אותו ולא שמע אותו מעולם הוא כאלו ראהו או שמעו.
ראה ראיתי, “I have indeed seen, etc.” In this verse we encounter three references to G’d’s awareness of what had been happening to the Jewish people. Each awareness mentioned is more specific and more encompassing than the previous one. G’d begins by speaking about what He has seen; He continues describing what He has heard; finally He describes the result of what He has seen and heard as “I have become intimately aware,” ידעתי את מכאוביו, “I have become intimately familiar with its pains.” According to what we read here the sensation of seeing something is not as powerful a tool to awaken responses as is hearing something. Only a combination of seeing and hearing is a truly powerful tool to arouse compassion. It is a fact that when one observes something without hearing any sound it is difficult to truly understand what the picture means. Similarly, if one hears sounds without seeing what causes these sounds, one also cannot form a coherent idea of what one has heard. One needs to both hear and see something in order to be able to evaluate these phenomena. The Bible uses the expression ראיה or שמיעה on different occasions as substitutes for the word הבנה, understanding. For example, we are told that a people whose language we do not “hear” is one that we do not understand (Deut. 28,49). The same is true of “seeing” unaccompanied by “hearing.” This is what Solomon said in Kohelet 1,16לבי ראה , “my heart has seen.” If someone has understood something only with his heart this is not comparable to someone’s understanding which was based on seeing and hearing it first.
(ז) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוָ֔ה רָאֹ֥ה רָאִ֛יתִי אֶת־עֳנִ֥י עַמִּ֖י אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּמִצְרָ֑יִם וְאֶת־צַעֲקָתָ֤ם שָׁמַ֙עְתִּי֙ מִפְּנֵ֣י נֹֽגְשָׂ֔יו כִּ֥י יָדַ֖עְתִּי אֶת־מַכְאֹבָֽיו׃
(7) And the LORD continued, “I have marked well the plight of My people in Egypt and have heeded their outcry because of their taskmasters; yes, I am mindful of their sufferings.