Devarim - 1st Portion

Join me as we learn Chumash for Sunday, the Torah reading of Deuteronomy, Devarim. We now begin the fifth book of the Torah, the book of Deuteronomy. The book of Deuteronomy has another name called Mishneh Torah, a review of the Torah. You will find some differences as we begin this book, different than the first books of the five books of Moses. While the first four books of the five books of Moses are written in third person, this one is in first person, Moshe speaking to the Jewish people. This is right before Moshe's passing, where he now decides to rebuke the Jewish people for what they have done wrong, similar to Jacob right before his passing that he rebuked his sons for what they have done wrong. And as we find later on in Jewish history, when it comes to David, Samuel, Joshua, that before their passing they rebuke the Jewish people to amend their ways in the future. The Torah begins by telling us the different places that the Jewish people have gone to and prepare in preparation for the promised land. Moshe reminds them of the trials and tribulations they've gone through together the last 40 years. Chapter 1, verse 1, the Torah reading of Devarim. Eleh Hadvarim Asher diber Moshe el kol Yisrael. These are the words that Moshe conveyed to the Jewish people. Be'ever Hayarden, on the other side of the eastern side of the Jordan, Bamidbar, in the desert, Ba'aravah, in the plains of Moab, Mol Suf, opposite the Sea of Reeds, Bein Paran ubein Tofel, between Paran desert and Tofel, and have for having maligned in the white, as we soon see what all this means. Uvein Hazeiroth Di Zahav, and in abundance and Hazeiroth and in abundance of gold. Let's see Rashi what these places mean and what these areas are. All the names of the places that we're going to be mentioning, as the sages tell us, they allude to events that happened in these places. The fish in the river being that this is rebuke on the sins of the Jewish people. So therefore, he mentions all the places where the Jewish people got God upset. Where he doesn't elaborate on them and only mentions them by hinting to them because of the out of respect to the Jewish people. El call you stroll to all the Jewish people. Why does it say to all the Jewish people? Rashi explains because if there only one have been part of them, in other words, and others would have been someplace else out in the marketplace, they would have responded, "If we would have been there, we would have responded such and such." Therefore, Moshe gathered them all together, rebuked them all that were there, and said, "Listen here, does anybody have anything to respond? Go ahead." Bamidbar. It was not that they were in the desert at the time by the plains of Moab. What is then the word of your meaning in the desert? Bamidbar because he was rebuking them of why they had to wander while they were in the midbar. That they continuously said, "Who is the one that's going to call Why are you calling us to kill us? How we should be able to go back to Egypt?" and so on. Because of what happened in the plains of Baal Peor by Shittim by the plains of Moab that they sinned in the plains of Moab with the sin of the idolatry of Peor that happened in the plains of Moab. Merl Suth opposite the sea of Reeds. >> [snorts] >> Al Mashi him Ruby Amps of the fact that they rebelled at the time of the sea of Reeds, but very only Amps of at the time when they came to the Amps of Shalom at that time that they complained and said I'm really in foreign but it's aren't there enough graves in Egypt that you took us to the desert to be killed. The came and also but the came and so too later on after they traveled from the sea that at that point as well they complained as well. By Yamma as it says by Yamma by Amps of it it says in to heal him Psalm 106 that they rebelled at the sea of Reeds Kadisa by Erkin as it's explained in the tractate of Erkin. Be porno being table for loving over machine by Yikai. Rabbi Shima by Yikai comments on this verse. Call Zarno Al Cola micro we've we reviewed every single verse. Well I'm a team of mocking Shishmai table for loving. And we have yet to find the place that is called Teifel or loving. Ella therefore we must resolve to explain that this means as follows. Connal Dvaram Shataflu. And that he rebuked them about things that they complained about meaning that they made secondary. About nonsense. Al Hamon. For the mana show who loving and they complained about the mana which was white. Show Amrov and I've seen who cut the black mark like all that are that we are our souls are disgusted by the food that has no waste. Al Masha also the mid bar porn and what they've done in the desert of porn. Al Yudia Maran. Through the spies. So the words loving and toffle refer to events that happened not places. The hot series what happened to hot series but my like a show carrot that was the event of the coup that carrot tried to make. Dov Rakin another explanation Amalam. The words of here that Mosha tells the Jewish people how you all of them knew my due should have learned the lesson. The Marsha sees all the Miriam of what happened to Miriam the hot series and hot series when she spoke ill of others. Then we should all have a shin heart because of saying slander against another person. And you did not learn from them ill against God. What is also he rebuked them about the golden calf that they made because of the abundance of gold that they owned. As it says in Hosea the rebuke given to the Jewish people the Jewish people also I gave you lots of money and silver and you made it into a idol. Verse two. It was normally an 11-day journey from Mount Horeb to Seir via Mount via the road of Seir. Kadesh-barnea. Rashi Moses says to them See what you have caused because of your terrible actions. There is no shorter way that there is no shorter way to anybody that goes from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea which was called the pathway through Seir. Which not only that generally there is an 11-day journey and God made it shorter because of you but you did it in three days. So you see the miraculous events that God was doing for you so you should be able to enter the land of Israel as soon as possible. Where do we see this? On the 20th of the year they left Horeb. On the second year in the second month and the 20th of the month. On the 29th of Sivan they sent already spies from Kadesh-barnea. So [snorts] now if you're going to make the proper calculation they were 30 days encamped at the place called Atavah. Sha'alu b'sari l'shaman because as it says in the verse they ate the meat for for a month's time. So, you count from the 20th of year to 20th of Sivan. V'shivu yamim shalshecha and then they have to remain for another 7 days until Miriam was healed. L'tzoger sham Miriam as Miriam was re-healing from her tzaraas for 7 days. Nim t'shlosha yamim k'satei so, what are you left with? Only 3 days that it took the journey from there from one place to the next because they left on the 20th of year. They came from there to Kibroth-hattaavah on the 21st of Sivan. They stayed there for 7 days and on 28th of Sivan they traveled from there to Kadesh-barnea. So, it's a matter of a journey of 3 days which usually takes 11 days. V'chol kach sh'chinam b'sulam b'shvilam and all of this the sh'china the divine presence of God toiled or worked hard or went out of its way to be able to help you l'maher b'aschem l'aretz to be able to get you quicker into the land of Israel. What happens? V'shvil k'kol temah because you guys messed up. Hashem k'ma made you wander svivchem around the Mount Seir arba'im shanah for 40 years. Verse 3. V'yi arba'im shanah and it was in the first of Shvat. V'yi arba'im shanah it was in the 40th year b'ashtei asar b'chodesh and the 11th month on the first day of the month diber Moshe b'nei Yisrael Moshe spoke to the Jewish people Yisrael shivah alaihem whatever God spoke commanded them regarding them. So, here we see we're now in the 11th month of the year 2448 which is the first of Shvat cuz that's the 11th month. This is a month before Moshe's passing. We're now Moshe tells the Jewish people everything that God spoke to them regarding the Jewish people. Let's see Rashi. V'yi arba'im shanah b'ashtei asar b'chodesh m'lamed l'chichon ela samuch l'misa. What do we learn from here? That the fact that the Torah tells us the date of when Moshe rebukes the Jewish people tells us that up until now Moshe did not rebuke the Jewish people. As we mentioned earlier, "Lomad Umi Mi Lomad, who do you learn from when you should rebuke?" Mi Yaakov, from Yaakov. That Yaakov also did not rebuke his children only right before he passed, as we find as he told Reuven, "Why am I telling you this to you? And I didn't tell it to you all the time from when you sinned." "Kdei shelo yitanei'eni, that you should not let me go and you'll be embarrassed." "Ochei'in, you'll think that you'll go and attach yourself to Eisav." "Umi'pnei arba'ah d'varim ein mokhikin adam ela'a samukh l'mitah, because of four things we don't rebuke a person only right before one passes." Number one, "Kdei shelo yimchi'kenu chaveiro mchi'chah, so he shouldn't continuously be rebuking him." Number two, "V'eizehu cheireif chaveiro chaveiro eilav, umis'bayish mimenu, that the shame should not continue like this. You see a person you rebuke, you tell them you did something wrong and they continuously embarrassed every time you see them." "Kdei Eisav u'Sefrei, b'Yehoshua, Chizkiyahu, u'Shmuel, u'Mishlei, so too we find Joshua did not rebuke the Jewish people only also right before his passing." So too "Inyanu v'chein David u'Shlomo b'nei'ah, and so too David did to King Solomon, his son." So we [snorts] see this is a common theme that repeats itself, that right before a person's passing, they do the rebuke so they should not be embarrassed and hold a grudge or go away from that individual. This is done on the first of Shvat. As the Torah continues, this rebuke only came after, besides the other reasons as we mentioned clearly before, of not rebuking somebody earlier, Mosha also waited only after "Koiseh Sichon Melech Ha'Emori, after he had already smitten and killed the people of Sichon, the king of the Amorites, Ha'Cheshbon, that was living in Cheshbon." "V'es Og Melech Ha'Bashan, and Og, the king of the Bashan, Ba'Ashtaros u'v'Edrei, that was dwelled in the fortress of Ashtaros Karni'im, and another royal city, Edrei." Rashi. Ah, Why does the Torah say that he else specifically did it only after he killed the people of Sihon and Og? Was because Moshe said If I'm going to rebuke them before even they get into some parts of the land of Israel the Jewish people say "What is Moshe and what is Moshe rebuking us for? What good did he do for us? Only coming to give us problems and trying to find problems with us. To find some type of excuse to exempt himself from the fact that we should not be able to go and to conquer the land of Israel. He does not have the power or the strength, the ability to be able to bring us into the land of Israel. Therefore Moshe waited. He waited until he conquered the nations of Sihon and Og. But he showed the Jewish people "Look, I'm here. I'm on your side. Only after he rebuked them. Moshe showed the Jewish people I need to He first gained trust and validation in the eyes of the Jewish people to show them I'm on your side. It's not only your sins. It's not that I cannot take you into the land of Israel. It's your sins that caused you to wander for this time. Even if Sihon himself wasn't a mighty king but he was in a city that was so well fortified that the city itself and the country itself would have been difficult to conquer. Even if it was another city, a simple city and Sihon was there. Or if it was a simple unfortified city and the king was but Sihon was great. Over here he's selling us that those Sihon was difficult and though the city was a very fortified city, still Moshe was able to conquer them. Again the same idea that the king is strong and the country was strong. Astaroth, what is the word Astaroth mean? Alashim Sookin the Kushim means it was steep mountains and lots of rocks which would hold people from which would prevent people from waging war there. Kimoy Astaroth Kimoy Astaroth who Astaroth Kimoy this same Astaroth is the same as the Astaroth Kimoy that we mentioned previously. Shahar of Kimoy Astaroth Kimoy Astaroth Kimoy was the same place that we learned in the book of Genesis where Abraham was waging war against the four kings. And that was the place where the giants hit Amra Amraffle hit them as it says that the that the giants were hit in Astaroth Kimoy Astaroth Kimoy Astaroth Kimoy Astaroth was the only one that was saved from the giants that were attacked by those four kings and that's why he's called the one who was saved. I make it a Kabash and that's what we find in another place that Og was the only one that survived from the giants. What is the word Shema Malchus? That was the name of the entire kingdom of where they all lived was called Edrei. The yard in verse five the yard from the other side of the other side of the Jordan on the east side of the Jordan River the land of the land of Moab Hoyo Moshe as it says that Moshe began to give his farewell address to the Jewish people by explaining the teachings of the Torah as we going to see in 70 different languages and this is what he said. Hoyo comes from the word he began he like we see it in the book of the Genesis here I began. There is a Torah to explain the Torah but he explained it into 70 different languages as he knew that eventually the Jewish people will be scattered in different nations in different places that they will have to learn it in 70 different 70 different languages. And the Rebbe explains it many times that the very fact that we have the ability today to be able to translate the Torah into different languages was because Moshe already did it once. That's in contrast to what the Talmud the king wanted the Jewish people to translate the Torah and that was because he was looking to find inconsistencies not to be able to find the truth and the reality of the Torah that Moshe translated it and because of that we can translate and make it accessible for every single person. Verse six, God spoke to us at Mount Horeb saying, "You have dwelt too long on this mountain." Rashi, simply like you're here too long, time to move on. Yesh midrasha God did this another explanation from the midrash here below that at this mountain God gave you greatness and reward for the very fact that you sat by this mountain. Number one, I see some Mishkan you made the Tabernacle and its vessels got the Torah. You appointed the tribunal the Sanhedrin. Sorry, I love them and the judges of over a thousand over a hundred. That means at this mountain so much has happened. You have become so great because of sitting at this mountain. It's time for you to travel towards northward and come to the mountain of the Amorites and all its neighboring places and its plains in the mountains and in the valleys and the lowland and in the southern border and on the seashore the land of the and and the Lebanon and the and until the Euphrates River which is known as the Great River. Rashi, that's the way of the city which is in the south of Israel which is Arad and Hormah. Come through simply put and its neighbors who are its neighbors and the Mount Seir. What are the plains this is the plain of the the of Israel which is the area by the Jordan which comes out of the Kinneret by the Dead Sea, which you see this whole empty land. Bahar, the mountains of Har Melech, that [snorts] is the king's mountain, meaning the place which you can see the um the the top of the mountains which goes from north to south through the land of Yehudah. Bashfelah, what does it mean the low plains? Zu Shfelah Stara means that's the south, which comes down at the end from Lachish all the way through Ein Gedi. U'vinegev u'vechof hayam, which refers to Rashi says Ashkelon v'Aza v'Keisari, this is the areas of the cities of Ashkelon and Aza. Ad hanahar hagadol u'frat, to the great river. U'fnai she'ein karam Yisrael, because we're now mentioning about the greatness of the Jewish people, the land kayra gadol, therefore he calls it also the great. Mashal, this is considered as if you take a parable for the way people speak. Omer eved melech melech, a person says that even though this person is only an associate to the king, or even though he's just an accessory to the king, but they associate him together with the king. V'davik lishachva v'yishtachva l'cho krav l'kayam v'eidan. If a person touches the anointing oil, meaning the very fact that he touched it, so too he also gets that extra measure. So too the Euphrates River >> [snorts] >> is considered great because it's connected to the land of Israel, so therefore it's called great because it's associated with the land of Israel. Verse 8. Re'eina satilefnechem, behold, see I have given you as ha'aretz the land, bo'u v'rushu, go, come and take possession of it. As a land that's ha'aretz the land she'nishba l'avoteichem that God promised to your forefathers, l'Avraham, l'Yitzchak, l'Yaakov, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, bless his land to give to them, u'l'zaram acharehem, to the children that come after them. Re'eina satilefnechem, see, behold, I'm giving b'eineichem, atem ro'im, you behold will see it in front of your eyes. Ein yemalel u'mevad mum shmu'a, I'm not telling you something which is a baby or a could be or I heard from somebody second hand. You're going to be the ones that are going to actually enter the land and therefore it's as if it's already given to you. Go you rush you go and take possession of it. There's no one that's nobody that's going to hold you back and there's nobody that's going to wage war against you. Even if you would have not sent spies to begin with you never even would have have to take in arms that would just would have been walked in and it would have been easy for you to take over. Love you say come to your forefathers if he says to your forefathers why does he have to mention Joshua Isaac and Jacob why does he have to mention Abraham Isaac and Jacob? Ella he tells us as follows. Technically each one of the forefathers on their own would be worthy enough that you should be able to take possession of the land of Israel. However, it's all of them accumulative that give you that right and ability to be able to go and conquer the land of Israel. Verse nine and I have told you at that I have told you I have said to you at that time. Lamar saying I cannot bear the burden of taking care of all your cases alone. What does it mean Lamar now Lamar with you already said that he's telling them these things which is in the first verse why does he say again saying? But Moses said as follows. I'm not telling you these things on my own. I'm just repeating I'm a conduit of whatever God says I should tell you. This is not something that I'm telling you. Israel is it possible that Moses saying that he couldn't handle all the Jewish people? is it possible an individual who took them out of Egypt? Alone and say I am I say I am. He gave them the money across the sea gave them the square and he can't judge them. What was Moses saying why can't he handle them? I can't but this is what Moses was saying. Hashem here is from made multiple. You're so great. He build the haters from other nations. He made you so great. But it's not only in number, but your merit was also really great. Not saying that only other day on him. He took your punishment and put it on the judges, meaning that he lifted you to a greater height. How is that possible? And what does this mean? That means if a person, a judge, obligates somebody money and accordingly, then God takes the punishment from that individual and puts it on to the judge and fills it from another place. And because of that, the judge gets punished because of it. The Marshall this is what says in the book of Kings. Who is one that can judge this nation of difficulty? Somebody would says about him somebody who is smarter than all individuals. I am how is King Solomon saying who can judge these people? Isn't King Solomon the smartest of all people? Why couldn't he judge them? Well, the Marshall this is what with King Solomon was saying. In the young Moses and Moses This nation is not judged like every other nation. Well, if you judge a non-Jew and you decide that they are should be and the judgment is that they should be killed or they should be strangled later whatever it may be. Even if it's incorrect nothing happens. E if you sway the judgment and you and you make him nothing nothing happens to you because you are able to judge according to what you see. And me however, King Solomon says who judges the Jewish people if I were to God forbid make a wrong judgment and cause somebody to pay money not the way he was supposed to I am considered as if I killed somebody as it says in the Sanhedrin that if a judge takes something from somebody not according to Jewish law, God says, "I'm taking that from him." She name it as it says in the book of Proverbs. The covers because they have no fish. That if you're going to steal from a poor person, God takes their revenge. So, King Solomon says, "How can I even judge these people? Whatever I'm going to do, if God forbid I make a mistake, I get back there get I get paid back. I get punished for it." Moses had the same complaint. Therefore, he continues by the first 10. God, your God has made you great. Behold, today you are today as the stars of the heaven. Were there stars in the heaven at that day? There was only 600,000 of them. Why did you say today you are like the stars in the heaven? You're compared to the day. Meaning, just like the day will be forever shine and the stars will all forever be in the night. So, too, the Jewish people will be for eternity like the sun, the moon, and the stars. This concludes the first Torah reading of the book and the parashah of Devarim.