The final weekly parasha is entitled V’zot HaB’racha, meaning,“and this is the blessing” and completes the annual cycle of Torah readings. Shortly before his death, Moses pronounces a blessing over the 12 tribes – a reiteration of what Jacob prophesied over his 12 sons five centuries earlier. The two blessings contain differences, and some of […]

This week’s parasha is entitled Ha’Azinu, which means “give ear.”  A modern-day translation would be a command to “listen” to what is about to be said.  Ha’Azinu covers all of Deuteronomy, Chapter 32, which contains 52 verses.  With this being Shabbat Shuvah, the Great Sabbath of Repentance that occurs between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, […]

We have a double-parasha this morning: Nitzavim and Vayelech. Nitzavim means ‘Those taking a stand’ and Vayyelech means ‘And he went’. These two parashas span Deuteronomy 29:9 (29:10 in our English Bibles) through 31:30. The parasha opens with all Israel assembled to stand before Adonai. In fact, the usual verb for ‘stand’ (omayd) isn’t the […]

The name of this week’s parasha is Ki Tavo, which means “when you enter in” and covers Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8.  In chapter 26, Moses instructed the Israelis on honoring God with the first fruits of the harvest after they settled in the Promised Land, including a declaration of His mighty deeds in bringing them into the […]

This week our parasha is Ki Teitzei, which means “When You Go”, and covers Deuteronomy 21:10–25:19.  Parasha Ki Teizei covers a large variety of topics and has 74 different commandments.  While we could go through all 72 commandments in the interest of time I would like to only discuss a small number of them. Weaving […]

“It isn’t fair.”  How many times have we heard people say this?  Fairness is a rather complicated concept, and often we don’t understand all the implications of our demands, but regardless we tend to argue our idea of ‘fairness’ anyway, don’t we? As adults, and especially as believers, we should recognize injustice when we see […]

The parasha for this Shabbat is entitled Re’eh, which means “See!”  It covers Deuteronomy 11:26 through 16:17. Moses makes it clear in chapter 11 that the real issue of drawing closer to God has to do with the heart of the individual. If Israel would serve Adonai in love and faithfulness, He would send the […]

Today’s Parasha is entitled Re’eh, which means “see” and covers Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17. Parasha Re’eh continues Moses’ second sermon to the people. It begins with the famous statement, “See, this day I set before you a blessing and a curse”. Moses describes the blessings for obedience to the Lord’s commandments, which were given earlier in chapter […]

This week’s Parasha is Eikev, which means “on the heel of.” In this Parasha Moses continues his final speeches to the Israelis before they enter the Promised Land. These instructions are more about obeying their God and are a warning. I think a good theme for this is the following: “If you have real faith, […]

The Torah portion for this Shabbat is called Va’etchanan, meaning “and I pleaded”. It covers Deuteronomy 3:23 through chapter 7:11. As the parasha opens, Moses pleads with Adonai to reconsider allowing him to cross over into the Land of Promise. God’s answer was a firm “No” but He did allow Moses to ascend Mt. Pisgah […]