Va’etchanan 5785 (2025)
Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11 (Haftarah: Isaiah 40:1-26)
Va’etchanan, the name of this Torah portion means “I pleaded”. This refers to Moses pleading with God that he (Moses) could enter the promised land. In the portion Moses goes over the nation’s history and God’s commandments. This is a special Torah portion because it contains both the Ten Commandments and the holiest prayer of the Jewish faith, which is the Shema, “Hear O Israel”.
The portion begins with Moses’ plea answered by God:
“At that time I pleaded with the Lord: “Sovereign Lord, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do? Let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan—that fine hill country and Lebanon.”
But because of you the Lord was angry with me and would not listen to me. “That is enough,” the Lord said. “Do not speak to me anymore about this matter. Go up to the top of Pisgah and look west and north and south and east. Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross this Jordan. But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.” (Deuteronomy 3: 23-28 NIV)
Moses emphasized the importance of keeping the commandments. The Hebrew word used for hearing is deeper. It also means understanding, as in internalizing what one is hearing,
“Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.” (Deuteronomy 4:1-2 NIV)
Future Generations
There is also a commandment to tell future generations about what God has done for the people. The specific purpose of God’s miracles and then in remembering them is that people will know who God is.
“Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? Has any other people heard the voice of God[a] speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other.” (Deuteronomy 4: 32-35 NIV)
“Moses summoned all Israel and said: Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them.” (Deuteronomy 5:1 NIV)
The holiest declaration of faith and indeed a prayer in the Torah is the Shema. It is more than a prayer; it is also a declaration. It emphasizes that God is one. It contains love for God and for one’s fellow man. Again the aspects of telling future generations and remembering are emphasized.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NIV)
Speaking Comfort
The Sabbath of Consolation, Nachamu, is always the one that follows Tisha b’Av, which is a day of mourning. This specific Sabbath starts the seven weeks leading up to Rosh HaShana, the new year. The prophetic portion starts with the words Nachamu, Nachamu meaning Comfort, Comfort…and it so called because the words of Haftarah come from Prophet Isaiah and speak about consoling Jerusalem.
Jerusalem was desolate and mourning for a long time. The city’s original holy purpose had been forfeited, and people were exiled. But, when God was ready, He instructed us to speak comfort and speak tenderly to Jerusalem.
“Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.” (Isaiah 40: 1-2 NIV)
God also wanted those, who spoke comfort and brought good news, to be loud, to declare and to shout.
“You who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!” (Isaiah 40: 9 NIV)
The Holocaust and Shema
Holocaust survivor and author Primo Levi (1919-1987) was an Italian Jew, a young resistance figure and chemist. Levi wrote about remembrance following his experiences during the Holocaust and his survival of Auschwitz.
Originally, he had joined a local resistance movement of Turin, Italy against the Nazis. When the local cell members were captured, Levi knew truly little about Nazi policies. He assumed that he would get off lightly, if he told them that he was a Jew (rather than a resistance fighter). He was very wrong and ended up in Auschwitz.
Levi repeated the Shema in the Holocaust context in his masterpiece ‘Survival in Auschwitz’:
“…Remember these words.
Engrave them in your hearts,
When at home or in the street,
When lying down, when getting up.
Repeat them to your children…”
Were there grounds for suspicion that the Holocaust could be forgotten?
Levi spoke about the survivors’ biggest fear: this was not being believed when they returned home. In his case, when he first submitted his manuscript, a famous Italian-Jewish literary figure Natalia Ginzburg (1916-1991) rejected it. Ginzburg, a wonderful author but then working in publishing, thought that no one would be interested. Rarely has one been so wrong. Levi’s best-selling works have been translated into multiple languages.
The Greatest Commandment
Jesus was a Jew and everything He taught came from the Torah and Prophets. Jesus’ life centered around Second Temple Judaism.
What was the Greatest Commandment to Jesus? This is very much the Shema. To this Jesus added a verse from Leviticus (19:18).
“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:228-31 NIV)
On this Sabbath of Consolation, let us speak comfort and let us remember!
*For an explanation of the terms see the first Pearls of The Torah Portion Blog.
| Coral and crystal cannot be mentioned, and the striving for wisdom [is more precious] than pearls. | רָאמ֣וֹת וְ֖גָבִישׁ לֹ֣א יִזָּכֵ֑ר וּמֶ֥שֶׁךְ חָ֜כְמָ֗ה מִפְּנִינִֽים: |
Job 28:18 (NKJV)
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Matthew 13:45-46 (NKJV)
Torah Scrolls were attacked and desecrated during the Holocaust. The enduring images of the Kristallnacht (November 9-10,1938) are those of synagogues on fire and Torah Scrolls burning. Some of these desecrated Torah Scrolls disappeared, others were buried. Some were lovingly rescued and are on display in museums in various locations.
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://irw.duv.temporary.site/website_047320a9/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Dr-Sussanna-K-Round.png[/author_image] [author_info]Dr. Susanna Kokkonen received her Ph.D. in Holocaust Studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. For ten years Dr. Kokkonen was the Director of the Christian Friends of Yad Vashem, World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem. Dr. Kokkonen has authored several books about the Holocaust and antisemitism. She educates Christian audiences worldwide including about the Jewish roots of their faith. Dr. Kokkonen is the author of the exhibits for the Holocaust Garden of Hope and serves the Holocaust Remembrance Association as Educational Advisor. [/author_info] [/author]
