The book known as Devarim (“words”) was originally known as Mishneh Torah – the repetition or restatement of the Torah. Hence the name Deuteronomy, “a second (statement of the) law”. In it Moses restates, with some additions and some omissions, both the history and legislation contained in the previous three books. But there is also something new. The first verse…
…The Science of a Meaningful Life @ http://greatergood.berkeley.edu. [4] Eliyahu Rabbah, Orach Chayyim 127:1. [5] André Comte-Sponville, A Small Treatise on the Great Virtues: The Uses of Philosophy in Everyday Life, New York: Holt, 2001, p. 133. [6] Ibid., p. 135. [7] Ibid., p. 137. What does Rabbi Sacks note is a dominant theme in Devarim? Can you think of examples?…
…quite different explanation. The reason Jacob transferred the double portion from Reuben to Joseph was that God told him to do so. The law in Devarim is therefore stated to make clear that the case of Joseph was an exception, not a precedent. Ovadia Sforno suggests that the Deuteronomy prohibition applies only when the transfer of the firstborn’s rights happens…
…and exile. But even then, Hashem will still keep His promises. Even during exile, if the people find their way back to God, He will return to them and bring them back to their land. The choice will always be ours. Therefore, “Choose life, that you and your children may live” (Devarim 30:19). Vayelech is the shortest parsha in the…
…came out of Egypt” (Devarim 24:9). The Rabbis said some powerful things about lashon hara. They said that it is worse than the three cardinal sins – idolatry, adultery, and bloodshed – combined. It harms three people: the one who speaks it, the one about whom it is spoken, and the one who listens to it. The story of Joseph…
…exactly 28 words. The Baal Haturim connects the 28 year reign of Yehoshua with the passuk, “ki hu hanotain lecha ko’ach la’assot” – “for He is the one who gives you strength to lead in battle.” (Devarim 8:18). The Baal Haturim also notes that that gematria of the word ko’ach – strength – adds up to 28 (its numerical equivalent)….
…the Education Companion section (directly below, in grey). Educational Companion Torah Trivia: this week’s answer The word is “tzur” meaning “rock”. It is the name given to Hashem in parshat Ha’azinu (see Devarim 32:4). It is the first word of the song Tzur Mishelo, a zemer (song) often sung at the Shabbat meal on Friday night. And it is the…
…Yosef from his brothers travel via camel. In Shemot the camels are struck by the plague of pestilence. This week (Vayikra 11:4), and in Devarim (14:7) camels are listed as a non-kosher animal. This question has been adapted from Torah IQ by David Woolf, a collection of 1,500 Torah riddles, available on Amazon. DOWNLOAD AND PRINT THE FAMILY EDITION >…
The parsha of Emor contains a chapter dedicated to the festivals of the Jewish year. There are five such passages in the Torah. Two, both in the book of Exodus (Ex. 23:14-17; Ex. 34:18, 22-23), are very brief. They refer only to the three pilgrimage festivals, Pesach, Shavuot, and Succot. They do not specify their dates, merely their rough position in the…
…had said, “I am not a man of words” (ish devarim). Here at the end of his life he becomes not just a, but the, man of words in a series of eloquent speeches unparalleled in their prescience. The entire book of Devarim is, in fact, a covenant in vastly extended form, in which the relationship between the people Israel…