Devarim

With God’s help, you and I are beginning to study the last, fifth book of the Torah, the book that is called Devarim, which means Speeches. The book received this name because it consists of the speeches with which Moshe addresses the people of Israel, retelling the Torah, recalling the events of the forty years of wandering through the desert. For the same reason, in the Russian translation this book received the name Second Law. Not a second law, God forbid, not some alternative law, but a repetition of the law: Moshe retells the Torah to the people of Israel.

Let us read from verse 1 of chapter 1.

Here very many people stumble and say: “If it is written here be'éver hayardén (beyond the Jordan, on the opposite bank of the Jordan), that means whoever wrote this book slipped up. He was already living in the land of Canaan, and for him Moshe was on the other side of the Jordan. And so we see that the book of Devarim is some kind of later fabrication.” But if we read the last chapters of the book of Bemidbar carefully and followed the conversations of the sons of Israel among themselves, we would see that the opposite bank of the Jordan got its name even before it really became the opposite one, before the Israelites entered the land of Canaan. The geography had already switched over, this name had already become fixed geographically. This is a new generation, these people already feel themselves to be in Canaan, they live Canaan. Therefore what is happening now is happening on the opposite bank of the Jordan: the whole people of Israel is sitting on the opposite bank of the Jordan, and the proper bank is the land of Canaan. Further it says – opposite Suf. And one can understand that this is the shore of the sea Yam Suf (the Reed Sea, or the Red Sea). Unfortunately, we do not know where the places called Tofel and Di-Zahav are, but we can say that some places of the wandering of the people of Israel are being listed here. Moshe seems to be reminding the people where the people had been, where it had wandered all this time.

Why is it specially stated that this distance amounts to eleven days’ journey? Once people knew well how much time any stretch of travel took, and all distances were measured in days of travel, that made it easier to calculate. There are good commentaries by Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, who explains it like this: “Moshe said to them: ‘See what (your sins) have led to! There is no shorter way from Chorev to Kadesh-Barnea than the way through Mount Se'ir, and it is covered in eleven days, but you covered it in three days,’ – for on the twentieth of Iyar they set out on the way from Chorev, as it is said: ‘And it was in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth (day) of the month…,’ and on the twenty-ninth of Sivan they sent out the scouts from Kadesh-Barnea (forty days in all); subtract from this the thirty days they spent in Kivrot-ha-Ta'ava, for they ate meat for a whole month, and the seven days they spent in Chatzerot, where Miryam was shut in (struck with leprosy); so (you find) that they covered that whole way in three days. – ‘This is how the Omnipresent troubled Himself for your sake, to hasten your coming into the land (of Yisrael), but because you sinned, He led you around Mount Se'ir for forty years.’”

Moshe says: “You had such help from the Most High! Despite your grumbling, despite all the difficulties, you had such support from the Most High that a journey of eleven days you covered in only three days. But since you sinned the way you sinned, you walked this same distance for forty years.”

The eleventh month is the month of Shvat. The LORD commanded Moshe to retell, to remind the people of Israel of the whole Torah, the whole history of the wanderings. Besides, we do remember that the generation that saw the plagues of Egypt, the generation that came out of Egypt, is no longer in this world.

Probably many who followed the news, the events taking place in Syria, heard the name of the city of Der'a. It was precisely there that Og, king of Bashan (og mélech habbashán), lived. In the old spelling, in the more southern spelling, this place is called Edrei, and in the Syrian tradition this place is called Der'a or Dar'a.

The first five verses were, strictly speaking, an introduction to the whole book of Devarim. The whole book of Devarim is speeches, I repeat, that Moshe spoke by the command of the Most High. It is Moshe’s retelling of the Torah for the sons of Israel, made by the command of the Most High. If we accept the tradition that Moshe died on the seventh of Adar, then from the first day of the eleventh month, Shvat, to the seventh day of the twelfth month there are thirty-five days, that is, Moshe began these speeches thirty-five days before his death.

The mountain of the Amorites is the beginning of the land of Canaan. The Most High called the people of Israel to set out, to move from Mount Sinai and to go toward the land of Canaan, to go into the promised land and into Lebanon, as far as the river Euphrates.

In the book of Shemot, in the weekly portion Yitro, the story is told about Moshe’s father-in-law, Yitro, how he visited Moshe in the desert and gave him advice. Advice about how to organize the court: “You, Moshe, will not manage alone, you will torment both the people and yourself this way, if you judge everyone yourself.” Here Moshe, remembering (or reminding) about these events, does not mention Yitro. Why does he not mention Yitro? Most likely because here he is speaking about his personal feelings, about what he himself was going through at that moment. Apparently, when Yitro spoke with him, Moshe himself felt this too, and that is why he says here: “…I said to you that I cannot carry you alone.”

And when Moshe says such words, you should not think that he, God forbid, is indignant about it or grumbling. He mentioned the number of the people, and thereby mentioned God’s blessing for the people, and he himself blesses the people as a leader.

A good, right habit for any leader (and indeed for any of us): when talking with someone and noting the blessing that the person we are talking with has, to ask for an even greater blessing for him, even a thousand times greater. Make a habit of blessing, it is wonderful.

This was a digression in which Moshe blesses the people of Israel, and then he continues his speech, begun in verse 9.

That is, these must be people who are not only chachamím (wise), but also nevoním (discerning). A discerning person is a person who can draw some new conclusions from old information, who can, having analyzed facts or the information at hand, give birth to some new knowledge, new information.

So, Moshe says: “I will no longer be the sole ruler.” Look, very often people love power and share power very reluctantly. That is not what happens with Moshe. Moshe says: “I cannot carry you, I cannot manage, there are too many of you.” There is no pride of this kind here: “Look what a people I rule over!”, no. He says: “Let us set up people who are wise and discerning, and they will be your heads.”

The commentators say that this was too hasty an answer. There was someone in the crowd, not everyone, but someone who thought: “Oh, at last it will not be Moshe! If they put one of our own in power, someone local, from our family, from our clan, then with him we will surely come to an arrangement, with him it will be easier. Maybe somewhere he will be bound by some clan traditions, he can be bribed, it will be simpler to come to an arrangement with him.” That is why the people was very glad. Part of the people was glad because it would become easier for Moshe, because the court would become more accessible, and part of the people was glad because it thought that it would be easier to come to an arrangement with the new rulers.

Interesting, where did the word nevoním (discerning) disappear to? The commentators say: “Well, Moshe did not find discerning ones, only wise and known ones were found.” And what does the word shotér, translated as overseer, mean? In modern Hebrew shotér means policeman. And in that Hebrew, the Hebrew that Moshe speaks, it is, one could say, the same policeman. This is a person who puts into effect the laws passed by the judges: if necessary, he confiscates property, if necessary, he uses some force to establish lawfulness. In short, an ancient policeman, that is, together with the system of courts Moshe also established the police.

That is, do not discriminate against the outsider: even the stranger, a person not of our kin, has the same rights in court.

It is very important for a judge not to be afraid of anyone. Why can a judge be afraid of no one? Because judgment belongs to God. The judge judges, and his task is to hand down a decision that corresponds to God’s will. And when he does God’s will, he is under God’s protection. As soon as he begins to be afraid of someone, his decision will no longer be God’s will, but the will of the one he is afraid of.

Some commentators say that here Moshe spoke somewhat boldly: “I will be able to sort out all your problems, even if they are difficult for you.” And in order to show him that, despite the fact that he brought the Torah to the people of Israel and the Torah is called by his name, he is sometimes forced to turn to the Most High for advice, as it was with the question of the daughters of Tzelofchad (which we read about in chapter 27 of the book of Bemidbar).

To all appearances, these words refer to the judges, to the conduct of cases in court. But one can also understand it this way, that Moshe says: “At that time I gave you all the commandments, you received them.”

Kadesh-Barnea is already part of the land of Israel, therefore it is said about this place that the LORD is giving it to the people of Israel. In Kadesh-Barnea the people of Israel stayed for nineteen years out of the forty years of being in the desert, this is the longest stop. After all, Moshe did step into the land of Israel before the end of the forty-year wandering, he stepped into Kadesh-Barnea.

From verse 22 Moshe begins to retell the sad story of the scouts. Moshe did not begin his speeches with this story, he began with the story of the judges. Often, when we begin with rebuke, with accusation, it is very hard for the person we are talking with to hear it. And in order to be heard, perhaps one has to begin with something else, not with rebuke, which is what Moshe did.

The word yachperú (from the verb lachpór) literally means they will dig through, they will dig out, and in the figurative sense – they will scout out the land. Here Moshe says that the initiative to send scouts came from the people. At the beginning of chapter 13 of the book of Bemidbar we read that it is the Most High who says to Moshe: “Send for yourself people, and let them explore the land.” When Moshe retells this story to the people, he says what concerns the people. Apparently, the initiative to send scouts came precisely from the people, and Moshe thought it over, and the Most High said to him: “Yes, send scouts.”

If we remember, they took a cluster of grapes, figs (fig fruit) and pomegranates. Grapes, figs and pomegranates do not ripen at one and the same time in one and the same place. We read in chapter 13 of the book of Bemidbar that it was the time of the beginning of the grape harvest, the first clusters of grapes had appeared. This means, and it is logical to think so, that somewhere in the central parts of the land they took figs and pomegranates, and then somewhere in the area of Chevron they took the cluster of grapes. Well, you don’t go scouting for forty days with a cluster of grapes. It would be strange if twelve men were moving unnoticed through the land of Canaan and at the same time carrying a huge cluster of grapes around with them.

Besides the fact that they came with the fruits of the land of Israel, it is written here that they returned with a report and said: “Good is the land that the LORD is giving us!” Again, none of those who were witnesses of the events (except Kalev, Moshe and Yehoshua bin Nun) is present here now. Of course, the children of the “generation of the desert” understood and knew well what they were punished for and why they were wandering for forty years through the desert, but here Moshe does not remind them of this. Here Moshe does not say that the scouts did not retell everything all that well, Moshe goes around this question. It is awkward to remind people of their sins, they remember everything well themselves. Moshe singled out what was, after all, said: “Yes, that land is very good” (although Moshe will yet speak about the scouts frightening the people).

By our brothers are meant those who returned with a report and made the heart of the people literally melt. As for the cities as high as the heavens – this is, of course, a hyperbole (an exaggeration), since there are no cities up to the heavens in Canaan. And the fact that they saw the sons of giants is, by the way, a kind of answer to the dispute over whether they got as far as Chevron. Apparently they did, because the sons of giants lived precisely there.

This was the very beginning of the way, there had not yet been forty years of wanderings. This was the first experience of being with the LORD in the desert, but the people already had to see that the Most High carries the people of Israel as a father carries a son.

The words if he sees in the language of an oath, in the formula of an oath, mean: “I swear that he will not see,” that is, the bad generation will not see the good land.

Why is nothing said right away about Yehoshua too? About Yehoshua there will be more further on. Moshe adds and says:

One can understand (this would be a possible understanding) that Moshe is saying here: “At that same time the LORD punished me too,” precisely then, in the case of the scouts, the LORD said to me: “You will not go in there.” But one can also understand it this way, that Moshe here, speaking about the punishment that the sons of Israel received, remembers his own punishment, that the LORD was angry with Moshe himself too. And he simply says: “I too am punished on your account, I too will not go into this land.”

A person often speaks awkwardly, following his feelings, there is nothing shameful in that. Here we see in Moshe a man who, having remembered how the people was punished, remembers that there is a sentence on him too, that he too will not go into the land.

This is the very same road that led to Emori, into the land of Israel. They are going by the very same road, but the direction is different, the direction is to the sea of Suf. The people did not resign itself, as we remember, to this sentence of the Most High, which Moshe tells about further on.

In the book of Bemidbar (14:45) we read that the Amalekites and the Canaanites came out against the people of Israel. Here we read that these were the Amorites. Why is that? Indeed, on this mountain (Se'ir) the prevailing force was the Amorites, although the mountain itself is the territory of the Amalekites and the Canaanites, hence this discrepancy.

Here one can understand it this way, that you lived in Kadesh as long as you lived at the other campsites. And from this the conclusion is drawn that the people lived in Kadesh for nineteen years.

With this, chapter 1 of the book of Devarim ends. But, as sometimes happens, the division into chapters does not correspond to the division that exists in the Masoretic text. Therefore we will also read verse 1 of chapter 2.

So, in his first speech Moshe spoke about how courts were established among the people of Israel, how the judicial system was organized. And he reminded the people of the sin of the scouts, of why the people had to wander in the desert for forty years, and of why the road that led to the land of Canaan led the people in the opposite direction.

With God's help we continue to study the weekly portion Devarim, and we will read from verse 2 of chapter 2 of the book.

Usually we read in the Torah the phrase: “And the LORD said to Moshe, saying,” that is, the address was in the third person (more than ninety times). But we remember that the book of Devarim (Speeches) is a special book. It is a book where Moshe himself speaks to the people, in it we hear the voice of Moshe, he speaks about himself, and that is why we read: “And the LORD said to me, saying.”

The Most High says here: “Do not even engage, do not try to conquer the land of Esav. I have given this land to him as an inheritance.” As we will learn later, this land will be conquered by David. This is not an eternal inheritance, but it is also not an eternal command – it is a command that the Most High gives to the people of Israel for that moment: “Do not start a war with the sons of Esav, the people of Esav has this land as an inheritance.”

Why do the sons of Esav have this land as an inheritance? There are many different views on this. One can say that the sons of Esav are to some degree heirs of Avraham. They too are descendants of Avraham, and they speak with the people of Israel in one language, as we see from some testimonies. Therefore (for the time being) the sons of Esav have an inheritance on this mountain. Pass through, but be careful.

That is, do not take anything from them. You are passing through their land – be careful, behave like an educated and cultured people.

“Because the LORD, your God, has blessed you in all the works of your hands” – this is a very important phrase. It is very important to remember that the LORD blesses the works of the hands. Often we ask: “LORD, what do you want me to do? What do You want me to occupy myself with?” And sometimes the answer is this: “You do something, and the LORD will bless the works of your hands.”

One might think (and so the sons of Esav could have thought, so any people might think): “These raiders from the desert will make a raid on us, they will simply plunder us here, because – well, what do they have there in the desert?!” Very often tribes from the desert make raids on some civilized cities and plunder them, this is a familiar phenomenon in history. Here the Most High says: “You have come from the desert, but you are not a people of the desert.” All the forty years that you walked through the desert, the LORD cared for you, so that you had no lack of anything. And you are quite able to buy yourself food for money, and to buy water for money.

In the ninth verse we read that the Most High again speaks to Moshe.

Lot, although he is not the zéra (seed) of Avraham, is from the family of Avraham, he is from his kin, and his descendants settle next to Israel. Again, both the Moabites and the Ammonites also speak a language very, very close to Hebrew.

What follows next is a kind of historical digression that the Torah makes.

The word emim can be interpreted as those who inspire terror.

The example of Gad and Re'uven is before our eyes. Why is this historical digression needed? First, the Most High says that the conquest of lands, wars, are some kind of natural course of events. Second, the Most High says that earlier some emím lived here, some refa'ím, and the Moabites conquered them and settled in their place. And the fact that the sons of Esav conquered some land – all this God gave them as an inheritance: all these wars, all these conquests did not happen by chance. And however great and fearsome these anakím, these giants, or these emím, all these amazing people of enormous size might have seemed, the sons of Esav conquered them, because the Most High gave them this land as an inheritance.

In verse 13 there is a command:

Kadesh-Barnea is the place where all these events with the scouts took place (which we talked about in chapter 1). How should one understand the phrase generation of anshé hammilchamá (people of war)? One can understand it as: those will die (as the LORD promised) who were liable for military service at that moment, that is, from twenty years old and up. One can also understand anshé hammilchamá as the generation that then rose up for war, went to fight against the will of the Most High – a story that Moshe also reminded the people of in the first chapter. The most probable, all the same, is the first way of understanding: all those who were from twenty years old and up died, as the LORD swore about it.

 It is commonly held that the punishment lasted forty years. In fact, if we count that the punishment began from the end of the first year and that at the beginning of the last year everyone had already died, then, accordingly, 40 minus 2 – simple arithmetic brings us to the fact that the 38 additional, extra years of walking through the desert are those years of which Moshe speaks as the punishment.

People disappeared unexpectedly, died unexpectedly. The word lehummám – as it were to blink away, to remove with a flicker, as if here was a person, he flashed – and he is gone. Not that they were sick for a long time and died: people disappeared unexpectedly, died unexpectedly, until all had died. One more understanding – to switch off one after another, to extinguish one after another, as if the Most High, by some invisible list, put these people to death one after another.

Ar is the name of a city, it comes from the same root as the word ir (city) itself. Ir is a place of vigil, some kind of watchtower, some place from which they keep watch. And so Ar too is a “vigil-house,” a place where they never doze, a place that is under constant guard.

And again there is a historical digression.

The LORD took part in the conquest of this land by the Ammonites, the LORD waged the wars of the Ammonites, as we read here: “The LORD destroyed them before the face of the Ammonites.”

That is, up to this day of which Moshe speaks. And since we have mentioned the refa'im, it is worth saying a few words about the word refa'im itself. This word does indeed name an ordinary people, perhaps somewhat taller and having somewhat wild customs, wild in the eyes of the people around them. This strong people lived on a fairly extensive territory, in those regions we are talking about now, and even in the south of Israel. Later we find that the word refa'im is used for ghosts – some dead people or something that remains after dead people. In Ugaritic texts, in the ancient texts of other neighboring peoples, the word refa'im is used for, one could say, some likeness of devils: some mythical beings who live in the mythical hell of the ancient Semitic peoples. Perhaps the people refa'im got such a nickname because of its wild character and its large size. That is the kind of people it was, or perhaps the coincidence is accidental. Besides that, the word refa'im has the same root, resh-pe-alef, as the word to be healed (leherafé), to be healthy, and the word doctor (rofé) comes from the same root. Therefore the word refa'im can mean the healthy ones. Then, on the other hand, this may be a euphemism: that is, when people do not want to say the dead ones, they say the healthy ones, to avoid using a frightening word. That can also be, and there are many different versions on this matter. I will repeat again, it may simply be a coincidence in the names.

Kaftor – these are the Greek islands, Crete and the islands around it, there is such a version.

Moshe receives here the instruction to go to war against Sichon, the king of Cheshbon, and the Most High says: “I will bring fear and terror upon all the peoples.” What does Moshe do?

Why did the Most High say to Moshe: “Go and fight, go, I have given you this land, you will conquer, you will win,” and Moshe sends messengers for peace negotiations? How does this fit together? First of all, one can say that Moshe learns from the Most High Himself. When the Most High sends Moshe to Pharaoh, He also says: “The victory will be yours, Pharaoh will let the people of Israel go, but first come and talk peacefully.” And in other cases the Torah commands: if you go to war against a city, then first speak with the city peacefully. But let us read what message Moshe sends through the messengers to Sichon, the king of Cheshbon:

On the one hand, Moshe says: “Let me pass through your land on very favorable terms: I will go only by the straight road, I will not trample your fields, and your tree plantations, and your green plantings, I will cause no harm. More than that, two million people will pass through your land who will buy food and water – all this is a very profitable deal. Do the same as the sons of Esav did with me and as the Moavites did with me.” And how did the sons of Esav and the Moavites act? Neither the one nor the other let him pass through their land. And, of course, in response to such a peaceful message, Sichon, the king of Cheshbon, sits and thinks: “So, these did not let him pass, and these did not let him pass. If I let him pass, then I will become a laughingstock in the eyes of all the neighboring peoples. He himself wrote, after all: as these, and these did not let him pass – that means I will not let him either. All the more I will not let him, so as not to look venal, or weak, or in general, so as not to look somehow.” To such a letter, to such a message Sichon could not react any other way, and therefore one can understand it this way, that Moshe in this way carries out the command of the Most High, provoking him to war. Through a peaceful letter Moshe plants such a provocative bomb, and the Most High, of course, helps him in this.

It would seem that the LORD strengthened the king's heart (literally – made his heart brave), and it is good when the LORD strengthens the heart. But the LORD strengthened the king's heart for the very deed that would destroy him: Sichon, the king of Cheshbon, did not want to let the people of Israel pass. He could have made good money on the transit of the people, but apparently he did not know the word “transit.”

Yahatz is evidently the name of a border town.

This is the story of the beginning of the era of the great victories of the people of Israel in the conquest of the land of Canaan, after forty years of wanderings through the desert.

With God's help, you and I continue our study of the weekly portion Devarim, and we will read chapter 3 from verse 1.

Og, as we will learn later, is a terrifying man, the last of the refa'im, about whom we said that they are a very, very tall people. And, naturally, his appearance frightens. But he is the last refa'im, his people are no longer refa'im.

We have already talked about this place, Edrei, in the commentary on verse 4 of chapter 1 of our book. In the Syrian tradition this place is called Der'a, or Zroa, as one would say it in modern Hebrew. The letters dálet and záyin are often interchangeable in Semitic languages, therefore in Hebrew this would sound like zróa (arm, strength). That is the name of the city to which Og, king of Bashan, came with his troops, with his people, to meet the people of Israel.

What is meant here is the territory that is now called the Golan Heights, which is also the belt of Argov, which is also the land of Bashan.

Here Moshe says: “Even though such a mighty and strong king of Bashan came out with his people to defend his cities, we captured all his land: sixty cities that were fortified with high walls and heavy gates with bolts, sixty fortresses and many open cities.” Apparently, Og, king of Bashan, had a rather flourishing civilization, if he had so many populated, well-fortified cities. This testifies that he had a rich kingdom and that Og himself struck terror into the nations (we will come back to his dimensions later). But the Most High said to Moshe: “Do not fear, I am with you. When I fight on your side, it does not matter what kind of adversary you have, you do not need to fear anyone. Why? Because it is not you who will capture him, but I who give him into your hand.”

So, Moshe tells the people about quite recent events, about how the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, was captured.

Here we learn for the first time, so to speak, the nationality of the people of Bashan. Although Og himself was refa'im by origin, the inhabitants of Bashan were also Emorites, that is, Og, king of Bashan, was an Emorite king.

Mount Chermon (which is still Mount Chermon today) is a huge territory on the bank of the Jordan opposite Canaan, conquered by the Israelites. And since Chermon has come up, the Torah adds:

Today Snir is the name of a kibbutz in the north of Israel, not far from Chermon. But besides these three names – Chermon, Sirion and Snir – there is one more name of Mount Chermon, which is used in our book Devarim (4:48), there it is called Sion (but not to be confused with Mount Tziyon, which is in Jerusalem); here the name Sion comes from the word si (record).

Moshe, telling about the conquests of the people of Israel, says: here is a mountain for which different nations have different names. That means it is a place that all the nations strive for, which each of the nations calls in its own way, tries to appropriate for itself. Everyone wants to possess Chermon, it is the highest place in the region.

Since Og has come up, it is fitting here to mention who Og actually was, and in verse 11 Moshe tells:

What does Moshe tell here? Moshe tells that Og is the last survivor of the refa'im. His cradle (a child's little cradle) is in Rabat-Amon. Rabat-Amon is a city that, apparently, was a kind of museum. When David captured Rabat-Amon, he also took a crown of enormous size there, with a stone of equally enormous size. This is how it is written in the second book of Shmuel (12:29–30): “And David gathered all the people, and went to Rabba (Rabba is that very Rabat-Amon), and fought against it, and subdued it. And (David) took the crown of Malkam from his head – its weight a talent of gold – and a precious stone, and it was on David's head; and he brought out very much spoil from the city.”

Malkam is Molech, the god of the Ammonites. Naturally, he was in Rabba, and they adorned him with a crown in which there was a marvelous precious stone. There were apparently many museum treasures in Rabat-Amon, and that is why the cradle of Og, king of Bashan, was kept there. And his cradle was nine cubits (about four and a half meters) long and four cubits (two meters) wide. If we take into account that a cradle is made roomy, then one can say that little Oggy, king of Bashan, lying in the cradle, was at least four meters tall in his early childhood. There is no talk at all of his bed, here it says that his cradle is on display as an exhibit in Rabat-Amon.

There are very many midrashim, traditions and tales which speak of the fabulous strength, fabulous height and might of the king of Bashan (for example, that he wanted to throw a whole rock and crush the whole people of Israel at once, but the Most High prevented him). And one can take this simply as traditions and tales. Some comment that the king of Bashan had his own merits. In general, the midrashim tell amazing stories about this king, he has an unusual biography, but we will not go deep into midrashim and traditions. And it was such a king that Israel was able to defeat.

Here Moshe begins to list the lands (up to verse 16) that were conquered.

So, Re'uven receives the southernmost part of the conquered lands, Gad receives part of Gil'ad, this is a little to the north of Re'uven's territory.

We know that the half tribe of Menashe is represented by Ya'ir and Machir, two descendants of Menashe.

Let me remind you that the whole territory of Argov is Bashan, that is, in fact, Ramat haGolan, the Golan Heights.

Here, in order to sort out the geography, one can call on the help of the ancient translations or targums, in particular the so-called Targum Yonatan, which says that the border city was the city on the site of modern Tverya.

This is an address, a command of Moshe to the tribe of Gad, of Re'uven and to half the tribe of Menashe, who receive their allotments on the bank of the Jordan opposite from Canaan. In order to receive the right to inherit this land beyond the Jordan, which Moshe divided among them, the men of these tribes must lead the people in the front ranks of the warriors, must cross the Jordan together with the people and move through the land of Canaan in the front ranks, win the land of Canaan for their brothers from the other tribes. That is, not simply to fight, but to move precisely in the front ranks of the warriors.

In order that, thanks to the tribes of Gad, Re'uven and half the tribe of Menashe, the borders of Israel would be expanded (there is a promise about the expanded borders of Israel, this is connected with Israel's influence on other peoples), in order that the promise would be fulfilled through them, these two and a half tribes must fight in the front ranks of the warriors for what was promised to all.

Moshe does not have some military academy in his past, he does not instruct Yehoshua to take over his experience of war, Yehoshua is himself an experienced warrior. Moshe says: “The main thing that you must remember – is not to be afraid, because the LORD will fight for you.” This is the basic principle of the conquest of the land. And the most terrible thing that can happen – the people will be frightened in this war. Moshe reminds first the people, and then his successor, the future leader of the people: “Look how everything works. Look and remember what kings, what kingdoms, what lands we were able to overcome, what the LORD gives into our hands. Remember that it is precisely the LORD who delivers everything into our hands, therefore there is no need to fear anything. And this – is the most important thing.”

Our weekly portion Devarim (1:46–3:22) begins with Moshe briefly repeating Jewish history, telling about what happened with the scouts, that is, actually, what became the cause of the thirty-eight years of wanderings in the desert.

One can find three differences between how Moshe tells this here and what is written in the book of Bemidbar, in chapter 13. There it is written that the spies were sent at the initiative of the Most High Himself, here – that the proposal came from the people. In the book of Bemidbar Moshe defends the people before the Most High, in our book of Devarim Moshe accuses the people, says that the people are to blame, who did not want to enter the land of Canaan. In the book of Bemidbar we read that it was Yehoshua and Kalev who persuaded the people, argued with the people, in the book of Devarim Moshe tells that it was he.

In order to understand what meaning there is in this contradiction, why such a contradiction arises, one must pay attention to what aim each of these books has. When we read the book of Bemidbar, we see a historical chronicle. We see there the story of why the Jews did not enter the Holy Land, this is, by and large, a book about the past. But when we read the book of Devarim, we see the testament of Moshe, which is intended for the future time. All these people who wept when the scouts returned, even these scouts themselves, had already died by that time. Therefore there was no sense for Moshe in discussing what the mistake of the scouts was, what the mistake of the people was. He needed to show the mistake that can be repeated in other generations too. That is, his testament is addressed to the future, it is addressed to us, it teaches us how to live. And for our spiritual life it is not so interesting what exactly some specific people who lived a thousand years ago were mistaken about. What interests us is where we can see our own mistakes, those mistakes that we can repeat. Therefore Moshe speaks precisely about those mistakes that will be characteristic of us too.

There is one more important lesson in this portion. Right after the verdict of the Most High was pronounced, the people said (Devarim 1:41): “We have sinned, we will go up and fight, as God the Most High commanded us.” But what happens next? The Most High says to them (1:42): “Do not go up and do not fight, because I (God) am not among you.” The people of Israel did not obey. Further the Torah says that each one took his weapon, all together they boldly went... and suffered defeat. In verse 44 we read: “And the Amorite who lived on that mountain came out to meet you and pursued you, as bees do.” It is interesting that the Torah notes that the Jews were going up the mountain, that is, they were in the valley, and the enemies were on the mountain. Such a position speaks of the advantage of the enemies: from the point of view of battle strategy, it is foolish to set out, to attack while going up a mountain.

What lesson did the Jews learn from these battles? We know that in the book of Shoftim, in chapter 3, it is written that the army of Shamgar went out to fight with farming tools – simply picks, rakes, pitchforks. The same book tells about another Jewish hero – Shimshon, who fought with a donkey's jawbone. About the soldiers of the army of King Sha'ul it is said (1 Shmuel 13:22) that they had neither sword nor spear. Likewise David went out against Goliat without any weapon. And all these people won victory.

Of course, they remembered not only the lesson that God must be among them. They remembered that one must fight on the mountains. Ehud, who was the defender of the people before Shamgar, acted the same way (this is again chapter 3 of the book of Shoftim), Debora and Gidon acted the same way too, and this practice became so established that the nations of the world began to consider the Jewish God a god of the mountains. The opinion took shape that on the plain, in the lowland, the Most High cannot help Israel.

In the first book of Melachim, in chapter 20, we read that there was a certain Aramean king, Ben-Adad, who went on a campaign against Israel and suffered defeat. And a terrible secret is revealed to him: “The God of Israel is the God of the mountains, therefore we will fight with them on the plain and there we will overcome them.” This false belief again led to defeat. Further it is told that the man of God said to the king of Israel (20:28): “As punishment for the Arameans saying that the Most High is the God of the mountains and not the God of the valleys, for this the Aramean people (their whole horde) will be delivered into your hand.” And there is an important addition at the end of the verse: “So that you may know that I am the LORD.”

And, looking back, we can understand why the people of Israel lost when, after the weeping of the scouts, they nevertheless set out in the morning and went up the mountain. Because the people did not heed the warning of the Most High, spoken through Moshe: “Do not go up, for God is not among you.”

Before his death Moshe instructs the people, repeats, retells to the people its own history, tells it why all this happened, tells it about the purpose of the people. And, since (as we have already said) the book consists of Moshe's speeches, it is called Devarim (Speeches). In the Synodal translation, following the Greek tradition, this book is called Deuteronomy, that is, a retelling of the Torah. A retelling – is, after all, the very same speeches. Moshe repeats the Torah in his own words, and the Torah for the first time sounds in a human retelling, in the retelling of the first teacher of the Torah. Some see in this the first midrash on the Torah.

 We read in the book of Shemot (4:10), where the first meeting of Moshe and the Most High is described, that Moshe says: “I am a man not eloquent, I am not a man of words. How will I go to the people of Israel?” He who at the first meeting with the Most High was not a man of words now gives a long, extensive, well-prepared speech, a well-prepared instruction.

 One can see throughout the whole Torah that Moshe really is not a man of words. Moshe repeats what the Most High tells him, conveys the words of the Most High to the people of Israel in every detail. There are almost no speeches of Moshe's own in the Torah – until our book of Devarim. Moshe is more a man of deeds, he does very much and speaks very little. Even his sin (as many perceive it) consisted in that he did not speak to the rock, but struck the rock. Again – did not speak, but acted. Not at all a man of words, unlike what is customary today among leaders, among politicians, among rulers. Precisely eloquence is considered a very important art: what matters is to speak, it does not even matter to act afterwards. Speeches make a mesmerizing impression on the listeners, and all politics today is made with speeches.

It is interesting that davar means not only speech, word, but also object, deed, action, intention. And, as often happens (so says one of the Hasidic teachers, Rabbi Tzadok of Lublin): “That in which a person has the most difficulty, that about which he often says: I am not a man of words, I am not a man of something else, that in which he slips and makes mistakes, precisely this can be a ready instrument for blessing.” So it turned out with Moshe.

 The man who was not eloquent began to speak when it was necessary to act through the word, when the people needed instruction – not simply the transmission of the words of the Most High, but a divine-human instruction, in which both the Divine Torah and human character would be combined, would act in harmony. In our case – the character of Moshe. And precisely from the mouth of Moshe, from a human mouth, the people had to hear the Torah as it is understood by a man, as it is transmitted by a man – a man who was the first to receive it, a man by whose name it is called. For it is called not Torat Adonai (the Torah of the LORD), although it is, of course, the LORD's, but Torat Moshe (the Torah of Moshe). Moshe retold it – the first man who passed it through himself and conveyed it to the people, so that it would be heard from a human mouth. And this is a deed, and not a speech. Therefore the name of the book Devarim can also be translated as Deeds. Moshe's last deed – to teach the people of Israel the Torah from a human mouth.

Read also the book of commentaries on Devarim, the stenogram of the portion Masei, the talk about blessings and curses and the weekly portions of the Torah.