DEVARIM 1:1–3:22
The Greeks and other "Progressives" call it Deuteronomy, "second law". This name is from a Greek mis-translation of the Hebrew phrase Mishneh Torah, "a repeat of the Law". Shows you how much the Greeks and other "Progressives" know. Mishneh Torah is what what we commonly called Devarim way back when.
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This week's Parshah recounts how Moshe appointed chiefs, the episode of the Twelve Spies, encounters with the Edomites and Ammonites, the conquest of Sihon and Og, and the assignment of land for the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half Tribe of Manasseh.
Moses reminds the Israelites regarding Hashem's instruction that Edom, Moab and Amon were off-limits because these nations were the inheritance of Esau and Lot.
The Children of Israel are enjoined to keep the Torah and observe its commandments that Hashem has given them as an eternal heritage.
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DEVARIM begins:
"These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel..."
"אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר משֶׁה אֶל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל"
All Israel means just that: Young, Old; Rich, Poor; Men, Women; Ashkenazi, Sephardi; Chassidim, Misnagedim; Religious, Secular.
Everyone is counted. Everyone counts.
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At a class with Reb Yitz’s shiur he quoted the opening words of the Parsha and Sefer Devarim:
"These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel..."
"אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר משֶׁה אֶל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל"
The Hebrew is specific: אֵלֶּה, these,; הַדְּבָרִים the words of Moshe.
The entire Sefer is composed with Moshe’s words.
Compare this circumstance where Moshe is a man of many words to the time when he first spoke to Hashem at the Burning Bush:
Exodus 4:10 “Moses said to the Lord, "I beseech You, O Lord. I am not a man of words,…”
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר משֶׁ֣ה אֶל־יְהֹוָה֘ בִּ֣י אֲדֹנָי֒ לֹא֩ אִ֨ישׁ דְּבָרִ֜ים
Moshe has grown. He has reached his potential, a lesson for us all.
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In the Parsha at 1:12 we read where Moshe says:
אֵיכָ֥ה אֶשָּׂ֖א לְבַדִּ֑י טָרְחֲכֶ֥ם וּמַשַּֽׂאֲכֶ֖ם וְרִֽיבְכֶֽם
“How (איכה) can I bear your trouble, your burden, and your strife all by myself?”
On Tish B’Av we read from the Book of Lamentations. The Book of Lamentations is traditionally called "Eichah", איכה, translated as "How". The first words read:
ֵיכָ֣ה יָֽשְׁבָ֣ה בָדָ֗ד
הָעִיר֙ רַבָּ֣תִי
How does the city sit solitary, that was populous,,,!
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In the Parshah at 1:24, the activity of the 12 men who were sent out is not called “scouting” as in the Book of Numbers, but here in Devarim it is called “spying”.
יִּפְנוּ֙ וַיַּֽעֲל֣וּ הָהָ֔רָה וַיָּבֹ֖אוּ עַד־נַ֣חַל אֶשְׁכֹּ֑ל וַיְרַגְּל֖וּ אֹתָֽהּ
"And they turned and went up the mountain, and they came to the valley of Eshkol and they spied it out".
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At 1:25 despite Moses' protests, the Israelites adopted the scouts' attitude and decided not to enter Canaan. This caused Hashem to bar that entire generation from entering the Promised Land.
וְלֹא אֲבִיתֶם, לַעֲלֹת; וַתַּמְרוּ, אֶת-פִּי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.
At 1:26 - But you did not want to go up, and you rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, your God.
וּבַדָּבָר, הַזֶּה--אֵינְכֶם, מַאֲמִינִם, בַּיהוָה, אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.
At 1:32 - But regarding this matter, you do not believe the Lord, your God,
וַיִּשְׁמַע יְהוָה, אֶת-קוֹל דִּבְרֵיכֶם; וַיִּקְצֹף
At 1:34 - And the LORD heard the voice of your words, and was wroth,
There may be a lesson here for all of us to learn:
Hashem is long suffering, but -
Whether you like it or not, Hashem has a plan for you.
Going against Hashem’s plan is done at your own peril.
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21 - "And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, "Your eyes have seen all that the Lord, your God, has done to these two kings. So will the Lord do to all the kingdoms through which you will pass".
“Fear them not, for Hashem your God, He is fighting for you.”
לֹ֖א תִּֽירָא֑וּם כִּ֚י יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם ה֖וּא הַנִּלְחָ֥ם לָכֶֽם
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The Haftarah opens with first verse of the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah relates that he prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Since Uzziah's reign was 52 years in the middle of the 8th century BCE, Isaiah probably began his ministry a few years before Uzziah's death, maybe in the 740’s BCE.
Isaiah would have known about the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 BCE, and much of its population deported. For him it was a foreshadowing of what was instore for the Kingdom of Judah.
He is said to have been murdered by Hezekiah’s son and successor, the very much wicked Manasseh, who after a co-regency, took the throne in 687 BCE. Manasseh ruled for 55 years. He re-instituted polytheistic worship, reversed the religious changes made by his father Hezekiah and sucked up to the Assyrian overlords.
In the Book of Isaiah at chapter 45, Isaiah speaks favorably of the Persian king Cyrus the Great. His rule began in 559 BCE, causing many of us to consider that there may be more than one Isaiah credited with the Book of Isaiah
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Way back in the Book of Genesis (18:19), Abraham is told that he and his descendants are to:
“…keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice…”
וְשָׁמְרוּ דֶּרֶךְ יְהוָה, לַעֲשׂוֹת צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט
But unfortunately we do not:
In the Haftorah portion from the Book of Isaiah, a 100 years or so before the destruction of the first Temple, the Prophet foresees the Destruction because we did not do righteous and justice, and Our eventual redemption (1:27) will occur when:
“Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and they that return of her with righteousness.”
צִיּוֹן בְּמִשְׁפָּט תִּפָּדֶה; וְשָׁבֶיהָ בִּצְדָקָ
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