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Parsha
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Devarim
Devarim means “Words”; this Torah portion contains the opening words of Moshe’s final address to his beloved Jewish People. Indeed, Moshe’s last remarks comprise almost the entire fifth book of the Torah.
Moshe’s messages combines rebuke for past misdeeds and encouragement for the future; details of many laws the Jews must fulfill and warnings about the temptations and pitfalls they will encounter; and predictions and prophecies about the high and low points of Jewish history as it will unfold over the centuries.
Moshe begins by recounting how he appointed a network of judges to help bear the burden of guiding a thriving, and sometimes difficult, nation.
Moshe continues by recounting how the People requested Spies to scout out the Promised Land - a mission which ended in disaster, for the Spies’s pessimistic report led the nation to despair. As a result, that entire generation was doomed to perish during forty years of wandering in the desert.
Now, those forty years have ended, and a new generation is poised to inherit the Land. Moshe recalls the recent travels as the Jews finally neared their destination; they were commanded to bypass certain neighboring peoples but wage war with others. Those nations with whom they did battle succumbed easily, and; the Jews won miraculous victories. They began to settle these newly-acquired territories east of the Jordan River, while preparing themselves physically, mentally and spiritually for their imminent journey across the Jordan.
Moshe’s messages combines rebuke for past misdeeds and encouragement for the future; details of many laws the Jews must fulfill and warnings about the temptations and pitfalls they will encounter; and predictions and prophecies about the high and low points of Jewish history as it will unfold over the centuries.
Moshe begins by recounting how he appointed a network of judges to help bear the burden of guiding a thriving, and sometimes difficult, nation.
Moshe continues by recounting how the People requested Spies to scout out the Promised Land - a mission which ended in disaster, for the Spies’s pessimistic report led the nation to despair. As a result, that entire generation was doomed to perish during forty years of wandering in the desert.
Now, those forty years have ended, and a new generation is poised to inherit the Land. Moshe recalls the recent travels as the Jews finally neared their destination; they were commanded to bypass certain neighboring peoples but wage war with others. Those nations with whom they did battle succumbed easily, and; the Jews won miraculous victories. They began to settle these newly-acquired territories east of the Jordan River, while preparing themselves physically, mentally and spiritually for their imminent journey across the Jordan.