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Please click here to view the Yeshivah Shule Tzetel for Shabbos Chazon, Parshas Devorim. Please click here to view the PDFs of Weekly Publications.
PARSHAH IN A NUTSHELL
Deuteronomy 1:1–3:22
The name of the Parshah, "Devarim," means "the words" and it is found in Deuteronomy 1:1.
On the first of Shevat (thirty-seven days before his passing), Moses begins his repetition of the Torah to the assembled children of Israel, reviewing the events that occurred and the laws that were given in the course of their forty-year journey from Egypt to Sinai to the Promised Land, rebuking the people for their failings and iniquities, and enjoining them to keep the Torah and observe its commandments in the land that G‑d is giving them as an eternal heritage, into which they shall cross after his death.
Moses recalls his appointment of judges and magistrates to ease his burden of meting out justice to the people and teaching them the word of G‑d; the journey from Sinai through the great and fearsome desert; the sending of the spies and the people's subsequent spurning of the Promised Land, so that G‑d decreed that the entire generation of the Exodus would die out in the desert. "Also against me," says Moses, "was G‑d angry for your sake, saying: You, too, shall not go in there."
Moses also recounts some more recent events: the refusal of the nations of Moab and Ammon to allow the Israelites to pass through their countries; the wars against the Emorite kings Sichon and Og, and the settlement of their lands by the tribes of Reuben and Gad and part of the tribe of Manasseh; and Moses' message to his successor, Joshua, who will take the people into the Land and lead them in the battles for its conquest: "Fear them not, for the L‑rd your G‑d, He shall fight for you."
HAFTORAH IN A NUTSHELL
Isaiah 1:1-27.
This week's haftorah is the third of a series of three "haftarot of affliction." These three haftarot are read during the Three Weeks of mourning for Jerusalem, between the fasts of 17 Tammuz and 9 Av.
Isaiah relays to the Jews a G‑dly vision he experienced, chastising the residents of Judah and Jerusalem for having rebelled against G‑d, criticizing them for repeating their errors and not abandoning their sinful ways — even after having been reprimanded and punished. "Woe to a sinful nation, a people heavy with iniquity, evildoing seed, corrupt children. They forsook G‑d; they provoked the Holy One of Israel." Harsh words are employed, comparing the Jewish leaders to the rulers of Sodom and Gomorrah. G‑d states his distaste for their sacrifices and offerings which were flavored with pagan customs. "How has she become a harlot, a faithful city; it was once full of justice, in which righteousness would lodge, but now it is a city of murderers…"
Isaiah then speaks gentler words, encouraging the people to repent sincerely and to perform acts of justice and kindness towards the needy, orphans and widows, and promising them the best of the land in return for their obedience. "If your sins prove to be like crimson, they will become white as snow; if they prove to be as red as crimson dye, they shall become as wool." The haftorah concludes with a promise that G‑d will eventually reestablish Israel's judges and leaders, when "Zion shall be redeemed through justice and her penitents through righteousness."
Note: The first word of the haftorah is "Chazon" ("The vision [of Isaiah]"). The Shabbat when this haftorah is read, the Shabbat before Tisha b'Av, is thus called "Shabbat Chazon," the "Shabbat of the Vision." According to chassidic tradition, on this Shabbat the soul of every Jew is treated to a "vision" of the third Holy Temple that will be rebuilt with the coming of Moshiach. Click here for more on this topic.
SAGES ON THE PARSHAH
These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan, in the desert, in the Aravah, opposite Suf, between Paran and Tofel, and Lavan, and Chatzerot, and Di-Zahav (Deuteronomy 1:1)
According to the Sifri, the numerous place names listed here are not landmarks indicating where Moses spoke these words—indeed, some of these places do not even exist as geographical locations. Rather, these are words of rebuke by Moses to the people of Israel. Instead of mentioning their sins outright, he alluded to them with these place names:
"In the desert"—the time they complained: "If only we would have died in the desert" (Exodus 17:3).
"In the Aravah (Plain)"—their worship of Baal Peor in the Plains of Moab (Numbers 25).
"Opposite Suf"—the trouble they made at the shores of Yam Suf, the Red Sea (see Exodus 14:11 and Rashi on Exodus 15:22).
"Paran"—the sin of the spies, who were dispatched from Paran (as recounted in Numbers 13 and later in our own Parshah).
"Tofel" and "Lavan" (meaning "libel" and "white")—their libeling the white manna (Numbers 21:5).
"Chatzerot"—where Korach's mutiny against Moses took place.
"Di-Zahav" (literally, "too much gold")—the sin of the golden calf.
(Sifri, Rashi, et al)
https://w2.chabad.org/media/pdf/116284.pdf
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