Moses continues to communicate God’s message to the people, telling them that God gives them a choice of blessing or curse: when they possess the land they must obey God’s laws to ensure continued blessings; otherwise they will be cursed.
Rabbi Ruditsky focuses on the repetitive theme of social concerns relating to the Shemitah, Kosher laws, and Peah. He connects it to the reference in the Aleinu prayer to perfecting the world under the sovereignty of the Almighty. Among other things, this is analogous to ridding our world of hate and discrimination, aka social action.
The theme for the parashah and for the haftarah is God’s unending love for Israel. Rabbi Ruditsky writes of people—biblical and other—who dare to question God in their personal and unique perspectives.
Rabbi Sacks writes about the word Shema: it is fundamentally untranslatable. Hearing and listening have so many meanings. Rabbi Sacks refers to the 2 key influences on Western culture: Ancient Israel and Greece. While Greece was a visual culture, Judaism is based on a faith in an invisible God.
In parashat Va’etchanan, Moses speaks of the uniqueness of Jewish history, the singularity of Israel’s redemption by God. While so much of the Torah is about “what” to do, or “how” to do it, Va’etchanan is about “why”: Why did God choose Israel for redemption?
Rabbi Ruditsky writes about seeing versus hearing, as depicted in the Shema, and links it to Tisha B’Av, where we mourn the impact of words said and their outcome.
Parashat Devarim introduces themes relating to wisdom in leadership, rather than power and authority, and the uniqueness of Israel that is based on the valuable teaching they received rather than any superiority to others. Please open the attached document to read a study guide for discussions based on several known commentaries:
Rabbi Sacks cites Deut 34:7, which states that Moses’ ‘eye was undimmed and his natural energy was unabated’ at the age of 120. He never lost his youthful idealism, and his passion for justice and the responsibilities of freedom. Instead of reminiscing in his old age, he turns to generatively, and the keeping of meaning.
Rabbi Ruditsky writes about the power of words, as in the importance of vows at the end of Numbers, and the nature of words at the beginning of Deuteronomy. Words are our primary medium of communication, and have power for both good and bad.
Rabbi Copnick’s article, written a few years ago, is surprisingly relevant today in a post-COVID world that has come to embrace zoom technology. Please follow the link below to read her article: