Naomi Graetz: Va’etchanan and Shabbat Nachamu When Comfort Becomes Dangerous

Naomi Graetz observes that Shabbat Nachamu very quickly follows Tisha B’Av, moving us rapidly from devastation to consolation, yet the rapid shift doesn’t quite work. She states that Lamentations emphasizes that “there is no comforter”. This is the defining condition. The lack of a neat resolution is reflected in Moses’ situation: he pleads to enter the land and is refused, without compromise or opportunity for appeal. He does not achieve fulfillment.

Rebecca Good: Va’etchanan Emunah (Faith)…Is It Enough?

Rebecca Good considers Moses at the time when he becomes aware that he will not enter the Promised Land. She writes that when Moses struck the rock, he did what he wanted to do, instead of what God told him to do. Although he had faith in God, he lacked the confidence that God would deliver.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, z/l: Va’etchanan The First Commandment

Rabbi Sacks writes about the divergence between the interpretations of Judah Halevi and Maimonides. For Maimonides, the basic principle is faith; a realization that there is a “First Being” who brought everything into existence. According to Halevi, the statement “I am the Lord your God…” is preliminary to the commands, explaining why the Israelites should be bound by the will of God.

Rabbi Paula Mack Drill: Devarim Motivations for Storytelling

Rabbi Mack comments on the tendency to retell events based on how we felt about them, including Moshe. She observes that for many of the events that Moshe recalls, God was originally in charge. How else do we account for the variations between Moshe’s recollection and the original narrative?

Jake Nussbaum: Devarim Beginning the Review of the Torah

Jake Nussbaum writes about Masechet Avodah Zara 25a, which attributes 2 biblical verses to the Sefer haYashar. The question that the sages raise is: what exactly is the Sefer haYashar? Rabbi Elazar wrote that it is Devarim, because of verse 6:18 – “so what is upright and good in the sigh of the Lord…”.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, z/l: Devarim Tzedek: Justice and Compassion

Rabbi Sacks observes that tzedek and its derivate tzedakah appear 16 times in Genesis and 18 times in Deuteronomy, and only a few times in the other books. The root has so many shades of meaning that it is practically impossible to translate. It demonstrates the wide range of meaning between legal justice and the right thing to do.

Rabbi Stephanie Ruskay: Matot – Masei Do Women’s Vows Count?: A 21st Century Problem

Rabbi Ruskay considers the challenging text that stipulates that a woman’s vow can be nullified by her father or husband; otherwise, if she breaks it then he is culpable. Rather than skipping over it, she “leans into the text”, considering contemporary contexts. For instance, she quotes the question “what happens to our bodies when we encounter a text that challenges us because of who we are”. She observes, “our tradition is bigger than any single passage.”

Sam Berrin Shonkoff: Matot-Masei

Sam Berrin Shonkoff tackles the multiple challenges of this double parashah; the sexism of men nullifying women’s promises, genocide of the Midianites, ethnic cleansing of the current inhabitants of Canaan, and questions how we can meaningfully engage with such texts. He writes that we cannot evade, ignore, or whitewash the narrative, but must approach the Torah in its entirety, cultivating true shalem—wholeness in the world.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, z/l: Matot-Masei The Danger of Suspicion

Rabbi Sacks writes about the tribes of Reuben and Gad, who will be permitted to return to their land on the east side of the Jordan river after the land is conquered, and they will be free of any obligation before God and Israel. Rabbi Sacks’ concern is that instead of being innocent before God, they must also be innocent before Israel. This enhancement has become an ethical axiom of Judaism. Appearances matter.

Rabbi George Altshuler: Pinchas The Dilemma of Pinchas: When do you teach against the text?

Rabbi Altshuler considers the narrative of the Israelites cohabiting with the Moabite women: He questions why non-Jewish women are blamed for leading Jewish men into idolatry and why God sees this as something punishable by death. For comparison, he references the writings of Charles Arthaud, of the French colony that would later become Haiti. Dr. Arthaud wrote that all people have a relationship with the Divine, yet he owned a plantation with slaves.