…his brother could go free. Moshe Rabbeinu, the man who said lo ish devarim anochi, gam mitmol gam mishilshom gam may’az dabercha el-avdecha ki chevad-peh uchvad lashon anochi. [Shemot 4:10] The man who couldn’t speak. Who said lo ish devarim anochi, I’m not a man of Devarim [words], became the author of the finest speeches ever given in history called…
“If only you would listen to these laws…” (Deut. 7:12). These words with which our parsha begins contain a verb that is a fundamental motif of the book of Devarim. The verb is sh-m-a. It occurred in last week’s parsha in the most famous line of the whole of Judaism, Shema Yisrael. It occurs later in this week’s parsha in the second paragraph…
Some commands in the Torah were understood so narrowly by the Sages that they were rendered almost inapplicable. One example is the ir ha-nidachat, the city led astray into idolatry, about which the Torah states that “you shall put the inhabitants of that town to the sword.” (Deut. 13:16) Another is the ben sorer umoreh, the stubborn and rebellious child,…
…mentioned in connection with Succot? Three times. Can you see? Source seven [Vayikra 23:40] …usemachtem lifnai Hashem Elokaichem That’s in parshas Emor. And in Devarim it says [Devarim 16:14]: Vesamachta bechaggecha… and vehayita achsame’ach. That is all about Succot. Succot is called Zeman Simchateinu because simcha is mentioned three times in relation to Succos, once in relation to Shavuos, no…
…key that helps us unlock the entire project outlined by Moses in Sefer Devarim, the fifth and final book of the Torah. We had been talking about covenants and commitments. I suggested that many people in the West today are commitment-averse, reluctant to bind themselves unconditionally and open-endedly to something or someone. The market mindset that predominates today encourages us…
…(Devarim 22:10). The ox is stronger than a donkey, so expecting the donkey to match the work of an ox is cruel. Each animal species has a unique role in the scheme of creation that we must respect. Another law is: Do not muzzle an ox when it is treading grain” (Devarim 25:4). What is striking about this law is…
…have the water we need to live. How much more would we fear if we left the source which gives us life!? It is the same with us Jews. Now we sit and study Torah , about which it is written: “For that is your life, and the length of your days” (Devarim 30:20). If we fear the Romans now,…
…to the story and to the message from the parsha? Thinking More Deeply The answer: Although it did not change the Moavites, Midianites, Israelites, Bilam or Moses, this incident does play a significant role in the story of our people. We are reminded of it time and again. In Devarim, Moses reminds the people that the Moavites “did not come…
…in his mouth, and he will speak to them all that I command him.” (Devarim 18:18) This cannot be meant literally. In the quality and clarity of his communications with God, Moshe was unique. He was matchless in the miracles he performed. Most importantly, only he was authorised to proclaim Torah: he was Israel’s sole legislator. The King and Sanhedrin…
During our first Coronavirus lockdown, there was one question I was asked more than any other: What about prayer? Just when we needed it the most, we found ourselves unable to participate in tefillah be-tsibbur, public communal prayer. Our most sacred prayers, devarim she-bi-kedushah, are communal. They require a minyan. There was an argument between Rambam and Ramban as to…