Devarim/Deuteronomy 7:12 — first verse of the portion Eikev*
And if you do [v’haya eikev]* obey these rules and observe them faithfully, the LORD your God will maintain for you the gracious covenant that He made on oath with your fathers: — JPS/Plaut
“a Land of wheat, barley, grape, fig, and pomegranate; a Land of oil-lives and date-honey” — Devarim/Deuteronomy 8:8
Continue reading Eikev: Something to Notice
“You will eat and you will be satisfied, and bless HASHEM, your God, for the good Land that He gave you.” — Devarim/Deuteronomy 8:10
Continue reading Eikev: A Path to Follow
“Not with our fathers did the LORD seal this covenant but with us–we that are here today, all of us alive.” Continue reading Va’etchanan: Something to Notice
“You shall love GOD, your God, with all your heart.” Continue reading Va’etchanan: Great Source(s)
“The Amorite who dwell on that mountain went out against you and pursued you as the bees [devorim] would do; they struck you in Seir until Hormah.” — Deuteronomy/Devarim 1:44.
Continue reading Devarim: Language and Translation
“These are the words that Moses addressed to all Israel….Moses undertook to expound this Teaching.” — Deut./Devarim 1:1, 1:5
Continue reading Devarim: Great Source(s)
“These are the words that Moses addressed to all Israel.” — Deut./Devarim 1:1
Continue reading Devarim: Another Great Source
These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel, on the other side of the Jordan, concerning the Wilderness, concerning Arabah, opposite the Sea of Reeds, between Paran and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Di’zihab; eleven days from Horeb, by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.
— Devarim/Deuteronomy 1:1-2 (Stone translation)
“These are the words” launches Moses’ long rebuke of the people. The first verse, according to commentaries beginning with the Third Century Sifrei Devarim, uses place names as code for sins:
Continue reading Devarim: A Path to Follow
“How [‘eikhah] can I bear unaided the trouble of you, and the burden and the bickering!” — Devarim/Deuteronomy 1:12 (JPS translation)
Alter notes the unusual use of “the elongated form ‘eikhah, which often marks the beginning of laments” — instead of the simpler ‘eikh here. Plaut (The Torah: A Modern Commentary) lists two prophecies, in addition to this verse, begin with this elongated form: Continue reading Devarim: Something to Notice
