Parashat Devarim 5785

by Rabbi Margie Cella

This parasha begins the fifth and final book of the Torah. The events described here take place in the 40th year after leaving Egypt: Israel is poised to finally enter the promised land, camped on the other side of the Jordan. Moshe delivers a discourse recounting all that has happened to the nation since leaving Egypt: receiving the Torah at Horeb (Mt. Sinai); arriving at the border of the land in the second year; the ill-fated mission of the 12 spies resulting in God’s decree that the men of that generation would all die in the desert; 38 years of wandering in the wilderness; the defeat of the Canaanite kings who confronted them; and the allotment of land on the other side of the Jordan to the tribes of Reuven and Gad. 

This parashah is always read on the Shabbat immediately preceding Tisha B’Av (August 2–3 this year).

Early in the first chapter, Moses recounts how, at the suggestion of his father-in-law Yitro, he established a tiered judiciary system, appointing men from each tribe to judge over thousands, hundreds, tens, and fifties. Only the most difficult cases were to be brought to Moses. He issued the following charge to these newly appointed judges: “You shall not be partial in judgement: hear out low and high alike. Fear no man, for judgement is God’s.” (Deuteronomy 1:17) In executing God’s justice, we must not show partiality to one who may be wealthy, powerful, or influential. Nor may we be sympathetic to one who is poor, powerless, or unknown. In God’s we are all individuals and all deserving of justice, regardless of our life circumstances. This is a lofty goal, to be sure, yet one towards which we must strive. Oseh shalom, Maker of Peace, help us all to live in a just world.