The Parsha in a Nutshell Va’etchanan contains some of the most important sections of the whole Torah. First Moshe tells the people how special their laws and history are. Their mitzvot, their laws, were given by God Himself, and their history was written by God. There is no other nation which can say the same. Moshe then begins his second…
…happenstance. As Freud, Einstein, and Wittgenstein all said, religious faith is faith in the meaningfulness of life. Rarely is this shown in a more powerful light than in Va‘etchanan. There is much in Judaism about what: what is permitted, what forbidden, what is sacred, what is secular. There is much, too, about how: how to learn, how to pray, how…
Buried among the epic passages in Va‘etchanan – among them the Shema and the Ten Commandments – is a brief passage with large implications for the moral life in Judaism. Here it is together with the preceding verse: Be very vigilant to keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and the testimonies and decrees with which He has charged you. Do what…
Buried inconspicuously in this week’s parsha is a short sentence with explosive potential, causing us to think again about both the nature of Jewish history and the Jewish task in the present. Moses had been reminding the new generation, the children of those who left Egypt, of the extraordinary story of which they are the heirs: Has anything so great…
…think the Torah influenced the political ideas of early American settlers? Why do you think it’s important for Israeli politics to reconnect with the principles of the Torah? Parsha in Passing In parshat Ve’etchanan, Moshe recounts how he pleaded with God to permit him to enter the Land of Israel, but ultimately God denied his request. Instead, He allowed Moshe…
The Parsha in a Nutshell Va’etchanan contains some of the most magnificent theological passages in the whole of Judaism. Moshe tells the people that their laws and history are unique, and will be seen as such by other nations. Their laws were given by God; their history was written by God – there is no other nation of which either…
…Pharaoh had instructed them to kill every male Israelite child, but they did not. Commenting on this, the Geneva Bible says “their disobedience in this was lawful.” When Pharaoh then commands the Egyptians to drown male Israelite children, the Geneva Bible comments: “When tyrants cannot prevail by deceit, they burst into open rage.” This was nothing short of a justification…
…small people to survive and thrive under the most adverse conditions, to construct a society of law-governed liberty for which we all bear collective responsibility, and to “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly” (Micha 6:8) with our God. And this week’s parsha – Va’etchanan – is the mission statement of the Jewish people. We are not just another ethnic…
There is a statement made towards the end of parshat Va‘etchanan, and it is so inconspicuous that we can sometimes miss it, but it is a statement with such far reaching implications that it challenges the impression that has prevailed thus far in the Torah, giving an entirely new complexion to the biblical image of the people Israel The Lord…
Near the end of Va’etchanan is a statement with such far-reaching implications that it challenges the impression that has prevailed thus far in the Torah. This remark gives an entirely new complexion to the biblical image of the people Israel: “The Lord did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples,…