Sefer Devarim

The Last Lecture
By Sandra Kilstein

The bittersweet stage of the Jewish calendar cycle is reflected in the overtones of Parashat V’etchanan. The feelings of having made it through the Three Weeks of mourning parallels the feeling of relief and the ability to move forward after the defeat of Og and Sichon It is the time of transition from the struggles of the desert to the forward-looking planning involved in settling The Land.

Yet for Moshe, the struggle remains. V’etchanan is the heart-wrenching plea of the ever modest leader of a great nation, a man obsessed with entering The Land. V’etchanan is the language of deepest humility ‘ a beseeching, an imploring request from someone who acknowledges that he may be unworthy, but asks nevertheless. Indeed, the word v’etchanan is related to cheenam, ‘free.’ Moshe asks for a free gift, despite the fact that his deeds don’t merit this reward.

Denied, he returns to his mission Read More >

by Joan Lenowitz

In this week’s parashah Moses continues to
relate the history of the peoples’ journey toward
the Promised Land. Whereas the first chapters of the
Book of Deuteronomy deal primarily with how the
nearby nations were to be approached in both war and
peace, Parashat Va’etchannan is more
concerned with elucidating the importance and
incentives for keeping God’s law once the people
arrive in the land, with a particular emphasis on
communicating the law to the next generations. It
includes the ‘Sh’ma.‘ and a reiteration of
the Ten Commandments.

But Moses begins by recounting his own fervent plea
to God (Va’etchannan) to allow him to
‘Cross and see the good land that is
on the other side of the Jordan, this good mountain,
and the Lebanon.’ (Deuteronomy 3:25) These
three descriptive terms suggest a panoramic view of
what is beyond the Jordan River, the land, the
mountains directly on the other side, and the
Lebanon mountains of the northern part of Israel,
with their white appearance. The land is just Read More >