This podcast was originally published in 2017 and even more relevant today.

Devarim 5781: The Words of Moses — The Torah’s First “Translation”

In many ways, the book of Deuteronomy — a series of long discourses by Moses — is a sort of "translation" of the earlier four books of the Torah. This characterization is quite ancient. In the midrash, the Rabbis connected the book of Deuteronomy associatively to the debate over translating the Torah into Greek centuries later. In so doing, they explored the questions of the ways in which Torah can enrich, and can be enriched by, other languages. At the root of their discussions is the notion that the Torah transcends language and that its words can be a source of healing.

Sources include Megillah 8b and Megillah 9a, Soferim 1:7, Devarim Rabbah 1:1 and Ezekial 47:11

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Dive deep with 9 days of curated Tisha B’Av themed podcasts by Pardes North America from the Pardes archive. In memory of Pardes students Marla Bennett, Ben Blutstein, Sara Duker, and Matt Eisenfeld ז”ל. Access these 9 podcasts as a direct download, or wherever you listen to your Podcasts!

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Credits

Rabbi Leon Morris - Pardes President, Faculty and Host for Pardes from Jerusalem Podcast

Arlene Harel – Production Coordinator

Rabbi Adam Titcher - Director of Digital Media at Pardes and Executive Producer