The Parsha in a Nutshell Vayelech is the very shortest parsha, only thirty verses long. Moshe tells the people, “I am now a hundred and twenty years old, and I can no longer go forth” (Devarim 31:2). He will not be leading them across the Jordan into the Promised Land. He then summons his successor Joshua and, in the presence…
…brings forth its produce: “Let My teaching drop as rain, My words descend like dew, Like showers on new grass, Like abundant rain on tender plants.” (Devarim 32:2) God’s word is like rain in a dry land. It brings life. It makes things grow. There is much we can do ourselves: we can plough the earth and plant the seeds….
…tsara’at… Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam along the way after you came out of Egypt.” Devarim 24:8-9 It was, in other words, not a normal phenomenon in nature, but rather a specific Divine punishment for lashon hara, evil speech. The Rabbis drew attention to the similarity between the words metzora, a person afflicted by the condition,…
…concept of holiness, that the command appears? Nowhere else in all of Tanach are we commanded to love our neighbour. And only in one other place (Devarim 10:19) are we commanded to love the stranger. And why does the command to love your neighbour as yourself appear in a chapter containing such laws as “Do not plant your field with…
Moses, having set out the prologue and preamble to the covenant and its broad guiding principles, now turns to the details, which occupy the greater part of the book of Devarim, from chapter 12 to chapter 26. But before he begins with the details, he states a proposition that is the most fundamental one in the book, and one that…
…morality of the economy and the humanitarianism of everyday life” in Israel today? WHY THIS LAND? Israel is not the Nile Delta or the Tigris-Euphrates valley. It is a land dependent on rain, and the rain in Israel is not predictable. But a message in Devarim (see Devarim 11:10–12) intimates a correlation between geography and spirituality. Israel is a place…
…Masei Devarim (Deuteronomy) With the book of Deuteronomy, Devarim, the entire biblical project becomes lucid and reaches its culmination. Deuteronomy is the last act of the Jewish people’s drama before becoming a nation in its own land, and it forms the context of all that follows. Devarim Va’etchanan Eikev Re’eh Shoftim Ki Teitse Ki Tavo Nitzavim Vayelech Ha’azinu Vezot Habracha…
…Heaven Devarim 11:10-12 Ramban on Devarim 11:10 Shemot 17:10-11 Talmud Bavli Rosh Hashanah 29a Core Questions Does the biblical description here of the Land of Israel make it sound like a good or bad place to live? According to the Ramban, why is Israel a good place to live? Do you think this still applies today 2000 Years of Daily…
…came from these families (clue: see the Book of Exodus)? What is the message there? Parental Responsibility to Educate Children Devarim 6:7 Devarim 11:19 Core Questions What are these texts also known from and when do read them? Why do you think educating children is central to them? Why is it a parent’s responsibility to educate their children The Mitzvah…
…the high moral drama of everyday life. Learning to Love, in Celebrating Life, p.99-100 Core Questions Why does the Book of Bereishit spend so much time telling stories about families? What lessons can we learn from them? What came from these families (clue: the Book of Exodus)? What is the message there? Parental responsibility to educate children Devarim 6:7 Devarim…