…of a free society, the antithesis of slavery in Egypt. On this day, all relationships of dominance and subordination are suspended. We may not work, or command others to work, “so that your manservant and maidservant may rest as you do” (Devarim 5:15). At many times in history, people have dreamed of an ideal world. The name given to such…
…Press, 1967, p. 493. Do you agree with Kierkegaard that “it takes religious courage to rejoice”? How is the festival of Succot connect to joy? In the essay for Eikev, Rabbi Sacks noted that gratitude was a dominant theme in Devarim. Here he teaches us that another key theme is joy. Which links can you find between these two themes?…
…is precise order and structure in the book of Devarim (Brachot 21b). But what is the order? Second: the Sages originally called Devarim Mishneh Torah, a “second law”. Hence the Latin name Deuteronomy, which means, the second law. But in what sense is Devarim a second law? Some of the laws Moses states in the book have appeared before, others have…
…rooms in our homes (Devarim 6:9). Question to Ponder Isn’t it enough to do the mitzvot? Why must we love God also? The Core Idea It says in this week’s parsha: “Be sure to keep the commandments, decrees, and laws that the Lord your God has commanded you. Do what is right and good in the eyes of the Lord…”…
…book of Devarim, from chapter 12 to chapter 26. But before he begins with the specifics, he states a proposal that is the most fundamental one in the book, and one that will be repeated over and over by Israel’s Prophets: “See, this day I set before you blessing and curse: blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord…
…7:7 The fewest of all peoples? What has happened to all the promises of Bereishit, that Abraham’s children would be numerous, uncountable, as many as the stars of the sky, the dust of the earth, and the grains of sand on a seashore? What of Moses’ own statement at the beginning of Devarim? “The Lord your God has increased your numbers…
…in Egypt…therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Shabbat day. Devarim 5:15 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years… Devarim 8:2 Remember this and never forget how you provoked the Lord your God to anger in the desert… Devarim 9:7 Remember what the Amalekites did to…
…degrees in misery, postgraduate qualifications in guilt, and gold-medal performances in wailing and lamentation. Someone once summed up the Jewish festivals in three sentences: “They tried to kill us. We survived. Let’s eat.” Yet in truth what shines through so many of the psalms is pure, radiant joy. And joy is one of the keywords of the book of Devarim….
…MiEtzion, Devarim, Maggid, Jerusalem, 2012, pp. 229-236. [7] Makkot 11a. [8] See Rene Girard, Violence and the Sacred, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1977. [9] New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1989. Can we consider revenge to be a Jewish idea? Is exile to a city of refuge a punishment or a protection? Do the residents of these cities deserve punishment? Do they…
…talking about. He’s talking about teshuvah. Teshuvah means returning to God and God returning to us. And if you listen and you look and you do a word search of the Torah, which passage does the word lashuv appear most times? It’s here in Devarim 30. It actually appears eight times in Devarim 30, I just didn’t give you the…