Questions tagged [parshat-devarim]
The weekly Torah portion of Devorim (Deuteronomy 1:1–3:22)
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Is there a difference in commands, statues & rules?
In Deuteronomy there is a repeated triad that appears in its full form first in Deut 5:28:
וַאֲדַבְּרָה אֵלֶיךָ אֵת כָּל־הַמִּצְוָה וְהַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים
And I will tell you the whole ...
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"as is still the case"; in Devarim 3:14
The passuk in Devarim 3:14 says:
יָאִ֣יר בֶּן־מְנַשֶּׁ֗ה לָקַח֙ אֶת־כׇּל־חֶ֣בֶל אַרְגֹּ֔ב עַד־גְּב֥וּל הַגְּשׁוּרִ֖י וְהַמַּֽעֲכָתִ֑י וַיִּקְרָא֩ אֹתָ֨ם עַל־שְׁמ֤וֹ אֶת־הַבָּשָׁן֙ חַוֺּ֣ת יָאִ֔יר ...
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וַיּוֹצֵא אֹתוֹ הַחוּצָה, וַיֹּאמֶר הַבֶּט-נָא הַשָּׁמַיְמָה וּסְפֹר הַכּוֹכָבִים--אִם-תּוּכַל, לִסְפֹּר אֹתָם; וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ, כֹּה יִהְיֶה זַרְעֶךָ [duplicate]
As you can tell from my previous posts I am not a Torah scholar. I figured I try and post a question that is relevant to Torah. וַיּוֹצֵא אֹתוֹ הַחוּצָה, וַיֹּאמֶר הַבֶּט-נָא הַשָּׁמַיְמָה וּסְפֹר ...
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Does the prohibition from Devarim 22:11 relate to קַ֔יִן Qayin and הֶ֨בֶל Hevel?
Does the prohibition לֹ֤א תִלְבַּשׁ֙ שַֽׁעַטְנֵ֔ז צֶ֥מֶר וּפִשְׁתִּ֖ים יַחְדָּֽו from Devarim 22:11 relate to קַ֔יִן Qayin and הֶ֨בֶל Hevel?
What sources (besides the two provided) validate this ...
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A Headquarters During the 40 Years of Wandering
In the beginning of Parshah D’varim the Israelites’ 40 years of wandering is recounted. I had always pictured this as one large, nomadic group moving in unison around the desert. In D’varim [1:2] ...
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What is the mountain of the Amorite?
Moshe discusses in Devarim how the people were supposed to approach the Mountain of the Amorite and conquer the land. Then, after
Where is this mountain geographically? Does it have any special ...
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Why is meat eating sanctioned by G-d if it's potentially bad for us? [duplicate]
In parsha Noach, G-d ALLOWS man to eat meat but there is no literal commandment to do so. Later, when the Mishkan and then ultimately the Beis Hamikdash are built, there are commandments for the ...
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What sons of Noach are the nations disposed of by Edom, Ammon, and Moav descended from?
Edom disposed of the Horites, Moav and Ammon the Rephaim/Emim/Zamzumim etc. (Devarim 2:10-12)
What sons of Noach are these peoples descended from?
If they’re giants (Emim/Zamzumim), are they ...
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Why isn't borrowing from non-Jews forbidden because of Devarim 15:6?
Devarim 15:6 says "For the Lord, your God, has blessed you, as He spoke to you, and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule ...
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Whatever happened to the Chiefs of the 10, 50, 100 and 1,000?
In Parshas Yisro (Shemos 18:25) Moshe appoints the Chiefs of the 10, 50, 100 and 1,000.
"וַיִּבְחַר מֹשֶׁה אַנְשֵׁי־חַיִל מִכָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּתֵּן אֹתָם רָאשִׁים עַל־הָעָם שָׂרֵי אֲלָפִים ...
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Sefer Devarim not part of the original Torah?
I've been told by a few separate people that Sefer Devarim (as evidenced by historians' accounts and the stylistic differences between it and the other 4 books of Torah) was in fact written at a later ...
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וקמת ועלית - how did they measure Jerusalem's highest point?
On the Pasuk (Deut 17,8):
כִּי יִפָּלֵא מִמְּךָ דָבָר ... וְקַמְתָּ וְעָלִיתָ אֶל־הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר ה' א' בּוֹ׃
If a case is too baffling for you to decide, ... you shall promptly ascend to ...
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Inconsistent base-10 system of judges
In Devarim 1:15 (also Shemot 18:21) we see the numerical system of the hierarchical system of leaders:
ואקח את־ראשי שבטיכם אנשים חכמים וידעים ואתן אתם ראשים עליכם שרי אלפים
ושרי מאות ושרי חמשים ...
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Why is "Yehoshua" spelled with a full Vav in Devarim 3:21?
I think this is the only place in the Torah where "Yehoshua" is spelled maleh - with a full vav (Shuruk). I think there are other places in Tanac"h where a similar thing occurs, but, I don't know for ...
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Did the Moabites give water and food to B'nai Yisra'el or not? Contradictory verses?
Devarim 23:4 - 5 says that we should not accept a Moabite into the nation of Israel because they did not give B'nai Yisra'el food and water as they left Egypt.
But, there is a seemingly contradictory ...
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Respect the stranger?
The word גר is commonly translated convert. However, we are commanded to love the גר as we were גרים in Egypt. Exodus 22:21, ibid 23:9, Deuteronomy 10:18-19. How can the Jewish people be said to have ...
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Moshe appointing leaders & judges - different accounts in Yitro & Devarim
I am trying to reconcile the events leading up to Moshe's decision to appoint leaders for the people (heads of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.) It seems that we get two different stories.
In ...
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Intermarriage in the written Torah
In Leviticus 19:20 they speak of a Canaanite slave being betrothed to a Hebrew (and defiling herself with another man). From this I understand that a non Jewish slave women was going to marry a Jew.
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Did Moshe say that he had punished Miriam?
Summary
A woman I don't know posed the following question to me while getting a quick ride to her car: It seems that Rashi and Sifrei on Devarim 1:1 say that Moshe said that he himself had punished ...
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Where is exactly is שָֽׁם in the pasuk גַּם־בִּי֙ הִתְאַנַּ֣ף יְהוָ֔ה בִּגְלַלְכֶ֖ם לֵאמֹ֑ר גַּם־אַתָּ֖ה לֹא־תָבֹ֥א שָֽׁם (Devarim 1:37)
In Devarim 1:37, Moshe tells us that
גַּם־בִּי֙ הִתְאַנַּ֣ף יְהוָ֔ה בִּגְלַלְכֶ֖ם לֵאמֹ֑ר גַּם־אַתָּ֖ה לֹא־תָבֹ֥א שָֽׁם
Because of you the LORD was incensed with me too, and He said: You shall not ...
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Why does Moses give `Tochecha` to people who did not sin
Acording to Rashi (and the sifrei, onklos and probably much more mefarshim), the first few psukim(1-4) do not describe a place as the Pshat suggests:
אֵ֣לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבֶּ֤ר מֹשֶׁה֙ ...
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Understanding an apparent conflict regarding Israel's Biblical eastern boundary
I'm trying to understand what appears (for me) to be a conflict regarding the Biblical eastern boundary of the "Promised land".
It seems that the land promised to the fathers went all the way as east ...
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Esau, Edom, Rome and the Jews
In parshat Devarim, Hashem tells the Israelites to leave the Edomites alone and bypass them: "You shall not provoke them, for I will not give you of their land...because I have given Mount Seir to ...
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Yachid v.s. Echad
What is the definition and difference between Yachid and Echad?
I read some where that Maimonides told HaShem is Yachid, but isn't He Echad?
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B'midbar 32:17 - Why did the tribes of Re'uven and Gad need to build fortified cities?
Numbers 32:17:
וַאֲנַ֜חְנוּ נֵחָלֵ֣ץ חֻשִׁ֗ים לִפְנֵי֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל עַ֛ד
אֲשֶׁ֥ר אִם־הֲבִֽיאֹנֻ֖ם אֶל־מְקוֹמָ֑ם וְיָשַׁ֤ב טַפֵּ֙נוּ֙ בְּעָרֵ֣י
הַמִּבְצָ֔ר מִפְּנֵ֖י יֹשְׁבֵ֥י הָאָֽרֶץ׃
...
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Why is the Mountain Sinai called Chorev as well?
I was studying today parashat ha shavua (Devorim) and it is written there that Jews went from the Mountain of Chorev. Why is not called Sinai? What significance lies behind this name?
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Limud for Levi not being part of the spies
Devarim 1:23 reads:
וַיִּיטַב בְּעֵינַי הַדָּבָר וָאֶקַּח מִכֶּם שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר אֲנָשִׁים
אִישׁ אֶחָד לַשָּׁבֶט׃
And the matter pleased me; so I took twelve men from you, one man for
each ...
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Why does the Torah use the term עַשְׁתֵּֽי־עָשָׂ֥ר instead of אַחַ֨ד עָשָׂ֥ר for the number 11? [duplicate]
There are two places in the Torah that I can recall (if there are others, please inform me) where the term עַשְׁתֵּֽי־עָשָׂ֥ר is used for the number 11.
Numbers 7:72:
בְּיוֹם֙ עַשְׁתֵּ֣י עָשָׂ֣ר ...
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Immediately after the sin of the spies, did B'nai Israel travel or did they stay in Kadesh?
There appear to be contradictory verses / explanations.
Numbers 14:25:
וְהָֽעֲמָלֵקִ֥י וְהַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֖י יוֹשֵׁ֣ב בָּעֵ֑מֶק מָחָ֗ר פְּנ֨וּ
וּסְע֥וּ לָכֶ֛ם הַמִּדְבָּ֖ר דֶּ֥רֶךְ יַם־סֽוּף׃
...
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Was the Golden Calf associated with a particular deity?
Are the Golden Calves constructed by Aaron and Jeroboam affiliated with any specific deity? In Ugaritic literature Baal is portrayed as a bull mating with his sister Anat who was a female calf. Does ...
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Unusual pronunciation of "Mol" in Devarim 1:1
Devarim 1:1 uses the phrase "Mol Suf". The word is pronounced "Mol" vs. "Mul". I assume that the literal definition of the word is "against" or "near".
In other locations in the Torah, the word is ...
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Why the hidden mussar?
The first few words of Sefer Devarim are understood to be Moshe Rabbeinu hinting at different mistakes the Jewish people made in the desert, and he is giving them disguised rebuke.
Rashi to Devarim 1:...
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38 years or 40 years in the desert?
I'm confused regarding several apparently contradictory verses:
Bamidbar 14:33 says that B;nai Yisra'el will wander the desert for 40 years.
In Devarim 1:19 - 22, Moshe says that they arrived at ...
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Source and reason of the Minhag to end Cohen aliyah of parshat Devarim 1 pasuk early
In some shuls that I have attended, they end the Cohen aliyah of Shabbat parshat Devarim one pasuk before the one where "Sheni" is marked (i.e. - they end it before pasuk 11 instead of 12).
I'm not ...
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Why is there a parsha break in the middle of a verse?
In this week's parsha, we see a parsha (stumah) "break" in the middle of Devarim 2:8.
There are several other places where there is a parsha break in the middle of the verse. Another example occurs ...
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Had B'nai Yisra'el not sent the spies, would they have had to fight against Amalek?
Rashi on Devarim 1:8 says that if it weren't for the sin with the spies, we would have never needed armaments.
Bamidbar 14:25 tells us that Amalek lived in the valleys, and Devarim 25:29 states that ...
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First Use of the Phrase "Cheit HaMeraglim"
The negative report given by the people who are sent to scout the land of Cana'an before Bnei Yisrael go in, resulting in the punishment that they have to wander for another 38 years in the desert, is ...
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How many stars did Rashi think there were?
According to the Chabad translation, Rashi on Deut. 1:10 implies that there are more than 600,000 stars:
The Lord, your God, has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as the stars of the ...
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How do we understand Moshe's rebuke
On Devarim 1:1, Rashi comments that the various places listed are in fact veiled references to episodes in which the Jewish people rebelled. Thus Moshe was offering a kind of concealed rebuke. My ...
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Og's bed made of iron
Devarim 3:11 desribes Og's bed as being made from iron. What does the the Torah add by describing Og's bed as being made from iron?
The Ramban comments that it demonstrates how tall he was, that wood ...
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Why translate Torah to 70 languages?
Midrash Tanchuma, brought in Rashi to Devarim 1:5 says:
בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן בְּאֶרֶץ מוֹאָב הוֹאִיל מֹשֶׁה בֵּאֵר אֶת־הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת לֵאמֹר׃ (Moses commenced [and] explained this Law, saying...)
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Why did Moshe complain about the Spies in Bamidbar if he thought it was a good idea?
The Posuk (Deut 1, 23) says:
,וַיִּיטַב בְּעֵינַי, הַדָּבָר
.וָאֶקַּח מִכֶּם שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר אֲנָשִׁים, אִישׁ אֶחָד לַשָּׁבֶט
[Moses replied to people's offer] It was good in my eyes...
...
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