This week’s Torah portion is the first one in the Book of Deuteronomy, Devarim. That is also the Hebrew name of the book of Deuteronomy, meaning “words” or “things.” In this particular case, it is best translated “words.” The first verse in the parashah is:
These are the words that Moses addressed to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan.—Through the wilderness, in the Aravah near Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab. – Deuteronomy 1:1
The People of Israel are camped by the side of the Jordan River, very near the end of their journey. Moses, now aged and infirm, is speaking to this generation, the children of those who left Egypt. He will review their story with them, retelling it, adding and omitting a few things from the earlier version. By the end of the book of Deuteronomy, he will be dead and they will be ready to cross into the Land.
Here are some divrei Torah available online about this parashah:
Listening to the Holy Space Between by Rabbi Rachel Barenblat
Go Up Already! by Rabbi Don Levy
Religious Reform: Even Moses Did It by Rabbi Sylvia Rothschild
So Much from One Word by Rabbi Amy Scheinerman
To 120: Growing Old, Staying Young by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
On Meaningful Repetition by Rabbi Aubrey Glazer
The Unbearable Heaviness of Being Moshe by Rabbi Ari Kahn
