Moshe is speaking primarily to the descendants of the those whom he led out of Egypt; their parents had all lost hope. When Moshe explains that “this is the instruction for you”, he offers them the Sh’ma and V’ahavta. Although he was speaking to those particular individuals, his words speak directly to us, who have inherited our name from Jacob. We are commanded to love: to love mercy, truth, meaning, and hope:
Rabbi Sacks contrasts the verse Deuteronmy 7:7 – “The Lord did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you are the fewest of all peoples” with earlier passages that reference how prolific the Israelite population was in Egypt, and that the descendants of the patriarchs would be like the stars of the heaven, etc. Targum Yonatan and Rashi interpret the phrase in Deuteronomy as one of humility. Why did God choose us then?
Rabbi Roston writes of the need for resiliency in our lives. She observes that one generation of the children of Israel were not ready to achieve their dreams because they lacked resiliency, whereas the next on was ready for battle and the conclusion of the journey.
Rabbi Gottleib writes that on Tisha B’Av, we mourn for catastrophic destruction. Yet traditionally, our communal mourning also includes teshuvah. She states that while we observe the mourning of historic events from 2 millennia ago, as well as more recent ones, we absolutely must consider our own teshuvah for the more contemporary ones as well.
The Talmud implies that the single most important issue at the end of our lives is whether we acted honestly in business, rather than did we study Torah regularly. Rabbi Sacks references Isaiah, who said that Jerusalem’s fate “was sealed not by conventional religious failure but by the failure of people to act honestly.” Please follow the link below to read the full article:
Rabbi Stein writes about the request of the tribes of Reuben and Gad to stay on the east side of the river instead of crossing over into the Land. She observes that the Hebrew word for their cattle is mikneh, whose root means to acquire. In other words, they put a higher value on the well-being of their cattle and wealth than the well-being of their people.
Rabbi Silverstein writes about journeys – physical and spiritual. This parashah names 40 years of journeying by listing 42 different sites, but without much narrative. It is up to the reader to provide the story and the message. For instance, she cites the Kedushat Levi, who wrote that the Israelites stayed longer in some places because it took longer to find the holiness of the site
Rabbi Sacks writes that the prophets were not powerful individuals, they had no authoritative roles, and were deeply unpopular. He further writes that when prophecy is fulfilled then it has failed, since the words of the prophets were to warn the people away from potential danger. If Israel was unfaithful to its covenant then it would fail.
Dr. Sinclair questions why women didn’t protest the social order in ancient times. She comments that the 5 women are minor characters, they are identified by name instead of by relationship to a man, they break protocol twice by speaking directly with Moses, and they protest the accepted social order. Yet the actual text is powerful.
Rabbi Sacks writes of the similarities between the narrative of Elijah and of Pinchas, both classified as zealots, and both rebuked, albeit gently, by God. Scholars are ambivalent about PInchas; while his zeal was well-intended, he didn’t act within the moral parameters of Jewish law. God rebuked him by removing him to a position of mandatory peace, while Elijah was rebuked for not hearing “the still small voice”.