This week on Torah Pearls (Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11), we explore Va’etchanan through the lenses of the Hebrew Bible, the Documentary Hypothesis, and the Moses Scroll.

Moses says God was angry with him “because of you” (Deut 1:37; 3:26; 4:21)—but is that what Numbers reports? We’ll unpack the meaning of “statutes and judgments,” the command not to add or take away from the word, and how these passages compare with the Shapira Fragments.

We’ll also examine:

➠ Differences between the Shema and Ahavta in Deuteronomy and the Moses Scroll

➠ The Ten Commandments—where the phrase appears, and whether the biblical text contains nine “Words” instead of ten

➠ Why Deuteronomy says no one saw anything at Sinai

➠ The mysterious “iron furnace” and its rare appearances

➠ DTR2 and the redaction layers of the text

➠ What it means to love God “with all your heart and all your soul”

➠ Possible anachronisms and person shifts in the narrative

From two stone tablets to the plural “Elohim” in the Shema, this Torah portion raises questions about what’s original, what’s been reshaped, and what may have been lost.

Watch this episode [⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠]