Overview
of the Weekly Reading
To be read on Shabbat Devarim, 4 Menachem Av 5769/July
25th, 2009
Torah: Deut. 1:1-3:22
Haftorah: Isaiah 1:1-27 (3rd of the Three Haftorahs
of Affliction)
Pirkei Avot: Chapter 3 (in
Israel, Chapter 2 outside of Israel)
Devarim is the 1st Reading out of 11 in Deuteronomy
and it contains 5972 letters, in 1548 words, in 105
verses
Overview: All of the Book
of Devorim takes place in the last forty days of Moshe's
life. He begins by reviewing many of the Jews’ desert travels,
wars and conquests, the appointing of judges, the spies’ sin and the
nation’s subsequent punishment. G-d promises to help Yehoshua conquer
in the Land of Israel as He helped Moshe conquer the lands of the Emorites
and Bashan (the present day Golan) which were given to the tribes of
Reuven, Gad, and part of Menashe.
 An
essay from
Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter, director of Ascent
(L:4469/Devarim)
(for a free
weekly email subscription, click
here)
"The Lord your G-d spoke to us in Horeb saying, 'You have
sojourned too long! Turn and travel and arrive at the Amorite mountain
and all of its neighbors….'" (Deut. 1:6)
The book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Torah and is different
than the first four. In Deuteronomy, Moses gives advice for spiritual
survival, not only for the first generation that entered the Holy Land
but also for every generation afterwards, including (and especially) us.
In this week's portion, Moses quotes G-d telling the Jewish people, "You
have sojourned too long!" (Deut. 1:6-7). Our soul's natural inclination
is to grow; "sojourning" alludes to staying at one level without
trying to move on to the next stage, i.e. "going around in circles".
The verse continues "…at this mountain", referring to
Mount Sinai. Even remaining at Sinai, sponging up Torah, is not the optimum.
We also have to make an impact on others, influencing them for the better,
especially those different or distant from ourselves. Exclusively focusing
on personal self-development, one's own individual activities and embellishments
only will eventually prevent a person from advancing, and even to spiritually
regress.
The passage continues, "…Turn and travel and arrive at the
Amorite mountain and all of its neighbors". In Kabbala, the nation
of Emor represents our negative side, that which opposes holiness. By
referring to the "Amorite mountain" we are encouraged to perceive
that negativity (bad character traits, keeping G-d at a distance, valuing
the material world over spirituality) like a mountain - difficult to climb,
out of our reach and not at all attractive. This is why the verse emphasizes
the word "arrive". Judaism is a specific journey; the mitzvahs
are taking us to a specific place. We are not meant to meander around
true spirituality, just to pass though. We are supposed to arrive at the
perception that the negative is an absolute barrier in front of us. The
classic source Tanna D'bai Eliyahu understands "arriving" to
mean taking it in, inheriting and integrating. In this sense, the concept
of inheritance reminds us that we are supposed to be retaking the sparks
that were lost, that only we have the potential to liberate.
After all this is navigated successfully, we come to the end of verse,
"…until you come to the great river, the Prat River". (Deut.1:7)
The Prat River was far away from Israel, designating the expansion of
Israel's borders. Through the service of the above - distancing ourselves
from negative forces and positively influencing our environment - we will
merit expanding Israel's borders into the land of the Kini, Knizi, and
Kadmoni. (From a letter of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, 1958)
Rabbi Chaim Vital, the Ari's main student, explains the verse "The
Lord your G-d spoke to us in Horeb, saying that the fact that G-d spoke
to the Jews in Horeb, where He gave them the Torah, is what made them
great. Through this, the Jews were then able to go into Israel and defeat
their enemies. So, the time had come that G-d could say to the Jews, "Turn
and travel onwards".
The Sh'la writes in his commentary on Tractate Taanit (page 328) that
the weekly Torah readings are connected to the calendar events that happen
around them. The Shla asks how can it be that the same three portions,
Matot, Masai and Devarim, are always read during the Three Weeks? These
portions speak about the victories of the Jewish people over the nations,
the dividing of the Land and the final preparations for entering Israel.
This appears paradoxical to the period of the Three Weeks! The answer
is that the fast days and all of these days of mourning will be transformed
into holidays and days of happiness. Specifically through our efforts
now in these days of exile and our heartfelt desire to see the Jewish
people reunited in Israel with the 3rd Temple, we will bring the final
redemption and our everlasting dwelling in the Holy Land.
Shabbat Shalom, Shaul!
P.S. Please also read
my weekly Shabbat Law, below.
(for a free weekly
email subscription, click
here)
FROM
THE CHASSIDIC REBBES (V:4469/Devarim)
"The cause that is too hard for you (literally "from you"),
bring to me and I will hear it." (1:17)
"Know," Nachmanides once told his son, "that whenever
a person derives pleasure from something, he will go to great lengths
to find it permissible, even if it is clearly forbidden. My advice,
if you are ever faced with such a decision, is to remove the element
of enjoyment from the equation. Only then should you examine both alternatives,
and G-d will surely illuminate your path." Added the Baal Shem
Tov: "If you ever have trouble deciding whether something is a
mitzva or not, know that the difficulty emanates 'from you.'
Remove the element of personal pleasure, ask your question purely for
the sake of heaven, and G-d will give you the wisdom to know what to
do."
(Keter Shem Tov)
MOSHIACH
THIS WEEK (M:4469/Devarim)
"Aaron the Priest went up onto Mount Hor at the command of
G-d and died there...in the fifth month on the first of the month."
(Num. 33:38)
Our Sages said that "the death of the righteous is equal to the
burning of G-d's house [the Holy Temple]." The "fifth month"
is the month of Av, the month during which the Holy Temple was burned
and destroyed. An even more essential connection between Aaron's death
and the burning of the Temple is as follows: The Second Temple, in particular,
was destroyed because of unmotivated hatred. The remedy for unmotivated
hatred is unmotivated love, which was exemplified by Aaron. Aaron "loved
peace, pursued peace, loved all creatures and brought them closer to
the Torah."
(Likutei Sichot) (from Lchaim 881)
"You shall not provoke them, for I will not give you any of
their land not so much as a foot step..." 2:5
"not so much as a foot step": meaning, even only for the
sole of the foot to tread a single step, I do not permit you to enter
their land without permission. An Aggadic interpretation is: [I will
not give you of their land] until the day arrives when the foot will
tread upon the Mount of Olives [the Messianic era], as it said: "And
His [G-d's] feet will [figuratively] stand [on that day upon the Mount
of Olives]" (Zech. 14:4).
Rashi - as published on chabad.org
A
MYSTICAL CHASSIDIC DISCOURSE
from the
Chabad Master series, produced
by Rabbi Yosef Marcus for
www.ascentofsafed.com
and www.kabbalaonline.org
For a free email subscription
to the Chabad Master series, click
here.
FROM
THE SAGES OF KABBALAH (K:4469/Devarim)
See our Kabbalah site,
KabbalaOnline.org
Specifically, for
precious articles on the Weekly Parsha in the columns:
Holy Zohar, Holy Ari, Mystic Classics, Chasidic Masters, Contemporary
Kabbalists, and more,click to
Devarim
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For another sample
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click to the
our
weekly e-magazine [temporarily not available]
one sample:
 Part
I: The Zohar's Mysterious Origins
by Rabbi Moshe Miller
Jewish mystical teachings were always an integral part of the Oral Law
and were transmitted together with the rest of the Oral Law by Moses to
Joshua, through the era of the Prophets and the Men of the Great Assembly,
until the time of the redactors of the Talmud. The Five Books of Moses
and the Prophets describe numerous mystical visions and experiences but
do not explain them or the methods used to achieve them.
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