Parashah Devarim Comments 2023
The fifth and last book of the Torah is Devarim. “Devarim” in English is “words.” And words—or speeches (traditionally considered three)—are what Moses delivers to the people of Israel before he bids them farewell, ordains Joshua to succeed him as leader of the Nation, climbs to the summit of Mount Nebo where HaShem shows him the Promised Land, and closes his eyes for the last time on earth.
When seventy Hebrew scholars translated the Older Testament (called the Tenach in Hebrew) into Greek (the “Septuagint”), they titled Devarim “Deuteronomy.” The Greek points to a “copy” or “repetition” of the law, since the book can be seen as a restatement of the laws, themes, and narratives recounted in the other four books.
“These Are the Words”
The first parashah (Torah portion) of Devarim is also called “Devarim,” because the book and the portion start with this verse:
These are the words Moshe spoke to all Isra’el…
The very next verse adds:
It is eleven days’ journey from Horev to Kadesh-Barnea by way of Mount Se‘ir.
Why is this important? The verse wouldn’t be in the book if it were not important, right? It summarizes Israel’s journey from Mount Sinai (Horev) to the southern border of the Promised Land at Kadesh-Barnea. Because of rebellion and fear, a journey that should have taken eleven days became forty years (see Numbers 13–14).
A Pattern of History—and of the Heart
To me, these verses—and the entire parashah—reflect Israel’s history: God commands, the people rebel, they repent, and He welcomes them back in love. The pattern appears throughout the Tenach.
God’s Goodness and the Two Worlds
On a larger scale, this parashah showcases God’s goodness—who He is and what He does. He created us to enjoy His lovingkindness (chesed). To that end He made two worlds: 1) Olam Habah (the world to come), to dwell with Him eternally; and 2) Olam Hazeh (this world), to prepare us for Olam Habah.
Why two worlds? Because we value what we labor for. A person will enjoy one “something” he earns as much as nine he does not. We do not prize a gift as deeply as a reward gained through effort, sacrifice, and faithfulness.
Skin in the Game: An Illustration
A friend of mine owned a winery. His excellent wines were inexpensive, yet he was losing sales. Considering lowering prices, he instead raised them—and sales shot up. Perceived value matters. Eventually his winery sold for many millions, and he retired wealthy. The point: the more “skin in the game,” the more meaningful the prize.
Yetzer Hatov and Yetzer Harah
So it is with eternity. God gave us this world so we could “earn” (better: appropriate through faithful choices) an ever-deeper appreciation of His chesed. He placed good and evil in the world and within us the pull of the yetzer hatov (good inclination) and the yetzer harah (evil inclination). We are born with the yetzer harah; at the age of spiritual responsibility, God grants the yetzer hatov to help us overcome it.
God then custom-crafts tests—big and small—fitted to each person, designed to mature us. Each victory of the yetzer hatov draws us nearer to Him and more fully images His attributes in the world. Each capitulation to the yetzer harah pulls us farther away.
Choose Life
At birth we receive the divine image (Genesis 9:6). That image is a seed of what we may become as we choose life over death, good over evil. God put it plainly:
See, I set before you today life and goodness, death and evil… Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.
Perfection here means giving God our best—no less, no more. He delights to watch us grow, like a gardener rejoicing over tender shoots. But help too much—as with a caterpillar’s cocoon—and you harm what you mean to heal. Olam Hazeh is our cocoon; or, as the Ramchal (Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto) teaches, the corridor to Olam Habah. “Be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44) calls us to become who He made us to be.
Tests, Free Will, and Meaning
Seeing life as God-given tests fills everything with meaning. The more we learn from His Word and from the Messiah’s living example, the more we understand Him. As maturity grows, intimacy with God deepens into grateful praise and public honor.
Scripture and the Living Word
Beyond free will, God gives His Word—1) in the Tenach and the Brit Chadashah; and 2) in His living Word, Yeshua HaMashiach, who overcame sin and death and reveals the Father’s love. David modeled this posture:
I choose the way of trust; I set your rulings before me.
Our hardships and the possibility of eternal loss are not God’s desire; they are the trajectory of choices. Evil choices beget more evil, just as good choices encourage what is right. God reserves vengeance for Himself; He disciplines because He loves and aims to correct our course:
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.
In all things, He is able to weave good:
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Conscience, Culture, and Authority
How then do we respond when government or culture call evil good and good evil? Paul affirms the reality and purpose of governing authority (Romans 13:1–4), yet Scripture also binds every ruler to God’s Torah:
The king is to write a copy of this Torah, read it daily, fear Adonai, keep and obey it, and not exalt himself above his kinsmen.
In the United States, the First Amendment guards free exercise of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. Believers are not called to silence but to faithful witness, even when costly—as in the example of Pastor John MacArthur’s congregation continuing worship during COVID restrictions.
Love Your Neighbor—Rebuke with Love
Yeshua summarized Torah’s heart with two commands:
Love Adonai your God with all your heart, soul, and strength… and love your neighbor as yourself.
Love is not the same as approval. Leviticus also commands:
Do not hate your brother in your heart, but rebuke your neighbor frankly… Do not take vengeance… rather, love your neighbor as yourself.
Silence in the face of evil is not neutral; it becomes its accomplice. The witness of history—whether confronting slavery or other injustices—calls us to speak truth in love, with courage and humility.
Training the Next Generation
Children learn from everything we do. Our choices catechize them, for good or ill:
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
Body and Soul, Pull and Promise
The body gravitates to the profane, the quick fix, excess, and self. The soul draws us toward patience, generosity, and holiness. When the yetzer hatov overcomes the yetzer harah, we seek God’s counsel and embrace His will.
On Israel, the Church, and Messiah
Many sense we are in the Last Days; the key remains Israel. Romans 11:11 says the nations’ faith is meant to provoke Israel to jealousy—toward her own Messiah. That requires sincere love for Jewish people (not merely the State), honoring the Jewishness of Yeshua, and relationships built on trust, not arm’s-length agendas. Messianic Judaism is not a replacement of Judaism but Jewish faith fulfilled in Messiah.
Dayenu—It Would Have Been Enough
We can never out-give God. “Dayenu” at Passover rehearses His mercies in fifteen stanzas, each ending, “It would have been enough!”
If He had brought us out of Egypt… If He had executed justice… If He had split the sea… If He had provided manna… If He had given us Shabbat… If He had given us the Torah… If He had brought us into the Land… If He had built the Temple… It would have been enough!
Choose Life—Today
We must prepare our hearts. Our nation is losing its bearings; greed for power and money is rampant. Regardless of the crowd’s opinion, we are called to live so as to please God, to resist evil with love, and to be ready with truth. Doing nothing is itself a choice. Devarim’s call is clear: choose life.
Closing Prayer
HaShem, if it be Your will, melt our hearts so we may love You and our neighbors, choose our yetzer hatov over our yetzer harah, and bear faithful witness until the day Messiah returns. Amen.
