Parashat Devarim

Torah Portions

Devarim (“Words”) is the first Torah portion in the Book of Deuteronomy, the final book of the Torah. In it, Moses recounts events from the Israelites’ travels in the desert, like the appointment of judges, the sin of the spies, and the wars with the Emorite kings Sihon and Og.

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These are the words that Moses addressed to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan.—Through the wilderness, in the Arabah near Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab, it is eleven days from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by the Mount Seir route. — It was in the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, that Moses addressed the Israelites in accordance with the instructions that יהוה had given him for them, after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and King Og of Bashan, who dwelt at Ashtaroth [and] Edrei…

Deuteronomy 1:1-11

I charged your magistrates at that time as follows, “Hear out your fellow Israelites, and decide justly between one party and the other—be it a fellow Israelite or a stranger. You shall not be partial in judgment: hear out low and high alike. Fear neither party, for judgment is God’s. And any matter that is too difficult for you, you shall bring to me and I will hear it.”

Deuteronomy 1:16-17

How can I bear unaided the trouble of you, and the burden, and the bickering! Pick from each of your tribes candidates who are wise, discerning, and experienced, and I will appoint them as your heads.”

Deuteronomy 1:12-13

“Send agents to scout the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelite people; send one participant from each of their ancestral tribes, each one a chieftain among them.”

Numbers 13:2

You answered me and said, “What you propose to do is good.” So I took your tribal leaders, wise and experienced men, and appointed them heads over you: chiefs of thousands, chiefs of hundreds, chiefs of fifties, and chiefs of tens, and officials for your tribes.

Deuteronomy 1:14-15

Then all of you came to me and said, “Let us send agents ahead to reconnoiter the land for us and bring back word on the route we shall follow and the cities we shall come to.” I approved of the plan, and so I selected from among you twelve participants, one representative from each tribe. They made for the hill country, came to the wadi Eshcol, and spied it out. They took some of the fruit of the land with them and brought it down to us. And they gave us this report: “It is a good land that our God יהוה is giving to us.” Yet you refused to go up, and flouted the command of your God יהוה…

Deuteronomy 1:22-3:22

Alas, she has become a whore,
The faithful city
That was filled with justice,
Where righteousness dwelt—
But now murderers. Your silver has turned to dross;
Your wine is cut with water. Your rulers are rogues
And cronies of thieves…

Isaiah 1:21-23

(Devarim 1:12) "How can I bear alone your contentiousness" — whence we are taught that they were contentious. If one of them saw his neighbor getting the better of him in judgment, he would say: I have witnesses to bring, I have proofs; tomorrow I will add accusers against you! — thus, "your contentiousness."

Sifrei Devarim 12:1

בשנאת ה׳ אתנו BECAUSE THE LORD HATETH US — Really, however, He loved you, but you hated Him. A common proverb says: What is in your own mind about your friend, you imagine is what is in his mind about you (Sifrei Devarim 24:3).

Rashi on Deuteronomy 1:27:2

YOUR CUMBRANCE. Torchakhem (your cumbrance) is related to the word torach (burden) in They are a burden unto me (Is. 1:14). Your cumbrance refers to teaching the commandments to the simple. AND YOUR BURDEN. They demanded bread, water, and meat. Compare, that Thou layest the burden of all this people upon me (Num. 11:11).

Ibn Ezra on Deuteronomy 1:12:1-2

THESE ARE THE WORDS WHICH MOSES SPOKE UNTO ALL ISRAEL. [The reference is] to the commandments which he will mention in the entire book beginning with the Ten Commandments in the section of Va’ethchanan, as Scripture stated, Moses began explaining this Law, saying, clearly indicating that he is speaking of the Law [which begins with the Ten Commandments in the next section of Va’ethchanan]. And in that case [we must say] that in the [following] verse The Eternal our G-d spoke unto us an introductory expression of “saying.” is omitted…

Ramban on Deuteronomy 1:1:1

ומשאכם YOUR BURDEN — this teaches that they were Epicorsim (that they treated the judges with scant respect): if Moses went forth early from his tent they said, “Why does the son of Amram leave so early? Perhaps he is not at ease at home?" If he left late, they said, “What do you think? He is sitting and devising evil schemes against you, and is plotting against you" (Sifrei Devarim 12:2).

Rashi on Deuteronomy 1:12:3

לא תגורו מפני איש means: YE SHALL NOT FEAR [ANY MAN]. — Another explanation of לא תגורו: Ye shall not gather in (shall not restrain) your words before any man. The word has the same meaning as in (Proverbs 10:5), "Gathering (אוגר) in summer” (cf. Sanhedrin 8a). כי המשפט לאלהים הוא FOR THE JUDGMENT IS GOD’S — Whatever you take from this man unjustly you will compel Me to restore to him; it follows, therefore, that you have wrested judgment against Me (Sanhedrin 8a). תקרבון אלי [AND THE CAUSE THAT IS TOO HARD FOR YOU] BRING TO ME [AND I WILL HEAR IT] — On account of this utterance (that he could…

Rashi on Deuteronomy 1:17:3-5

“How does the greatly crowded city sit alone? She has become like a widow. Great among the nations, a princess among the states: She has become a vassal” (Lamentations 1:1).
“How [eikha] does…sit [alone].” Three prophesied with the term eikha: Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. Moses said: “How [eikha] can I bear alone…” (Deuteronomy 1:12). Isaiah said: “How [eikha] did [the faithful city] become a harlot?” (Isaiah 1:21). Jeremiah said: “How [eikha] does [the greatly crowded city] sit alone?” Rabbi Levi said: This is analogous to a noblewoman who had…

Eikhah Rabbah 1:1

חכמים ונבנים WISE AND UNDERSTANDING [MEN] — i.e. men who can understand a matter out of (i.e. by comparison with) another matter. — This is what Arius asked R. Jose: what is the difference between wise men and understanding men? A wise man is like a rich money changer: when people bring him dinars to examine (to value) he examines them; and when they do not bring to him, he sits and does nothing (he does not go out to seek any). An understanding man, however, is like a merchant money changer: when they bring him coins to examine, he examines them…

Rashi on Deuteronomy 1:13:3-4

ותענו אתי וגו׳ AND YE ANSWERED ME, etc. — You at once decided the matter to your benefit. You should really have replied: Our teacher, Moses! From whom is it more fitting to learn, from you or from your disciple? Is it not from you who have taken such pains about it? But I knew your thoughts: you said, “Many judges will now be appointed over us; if one of them does not happen to be an acquaintance of ours, we shall bring him a gift and he will show us favour (Sifrei Devarim 14).

Rashi on Deuteronomy 1:14:1

אלה הדברים THESE ARE THE WORDS — Because these are words of reproof and he is enumerating here all the places where they provoked God to anger, therefore he suppresses all mention of the matters in which they sinned and refers to them only by a mere allusion contained in the names of these places out of regard for Israel (cf. Sifrei Devarim 1:1; Onkelos and Targum Jonathan). אל כל ישראל [THE WORDS WHICH HE SPAKE] TO ALL ISRAEL — If he had reproved only some of them, those who were then in the street (i.e…

Rashi on Deuteronomy 1:1:1-8

רב לכם שבת — Explain this according to its plain sense: YE HAVE DWELT LONG ENOUGH [IN THIS MOUNT]. — But there is an Agadic explanation: He has given you much distinction and reward for your having dwelt in this mount: you made the Tabernacle, the candlestick and the other sacred articles, you received the Torah, you appointed a Sanhedrin for yourselves, captains over thousands and captains over hundreds (cf. Sifrei Devarim 5:2).

Rashi on Deuteronomy 1:6:1

לא תכירו פנים במשפט YE SHALL NOT RESPECT PERSONS IN JUDGMENT — This is addressed to him whose office it is to appoint judges — that he should not say, Mr. So-and-so is a fine or a strong man, I will make him a judge; Mr. So-and-so is my relative, I will make him a judge in the city, — while in reality he is not expert in the laws, and consequently he will condemn the innocent and acquit the guilty — I will account it unto him who appointed him as though he had shown favor in judgment (Sifrei Devarim 17:1)…

Rashi on Deuteronomy 1:17:1-2

שלח לך אנשים SEND THOU MEN — Why is the section dealing with the spies put in juxtaposition with the section dealing with Miriam’s punishment? To show the grievousness of the spies’ sin: because she (Miriam) was punished on account of the slander which she uttered against her brother, and these sinners witnessed it and yet they did not take a lesson from her (Midrash Tanchuma, Sh'lach 5).

Rashi on Numbers 13:2:1

illustration of the word "Elleh" (these), the first word of Devarim, from harley_ms_5710_f110v, Bible with masorah magna and parva. Courtesy British Library Harley 5710.