deuteronomy

Shabbat: Parsha Va'etchanan

Submitted by msarko on Fri, 07/31/2009 - 2:50am
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Shabbat Shalom and welcome to Judeo Talk. The Torah portion for this week is Parsha Va'etchanan, Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11.

I frequently refer to certain parshiot as being "loaded", that is, containing an unusually high density of extremely interesting, important information. Va'etchanan, in that regard, is half-loaded. Much of Deuteronomy is concerned with recounting the history of the Israelites and reiterating the most important laws. In a sense, it's a kind of Cliff's Notes version of the Torah after Genesis. Mixed in with this civics lesson are several key passages, some that were intended to stand out and others that came to stand out thanks to the rabbinical construction of the standard liturgy. Read more

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Shabbat: Parsha Devarim

Submitted by msarko on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 4:01am
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Shabbat Shalom and welcome to Judeo Talk. The Torah portion for this week is Parsha Devarim, Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22.

We've hit the home stretch. This week we begin Devarim, the book of Deuteronomy, the conclusion of the Five Books of Moses. Much of this book takes the form of Moses speaking directly to the Israelites just days before they are to enter to the Promised Land and officially make their nation. Parsha Devarim takes place in year 40, month 11, essentially zero hour. The people have been in the wilderness staving off starvation, dehydration, plague and war since they left Egypt a full generation prior. At this time, Moses stands before them and reviews their recent history.

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