Parashat Va’etchanan
8th August 2025
Week of – 03rd – 9th August 2025
Torah portion : Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11; Haftarah: Isaiah 40:1-26
Theme: Hearken to the call to loyalty and love
This Parashah begins with Moses telling the people about his “prayer” to the LORD God concerning his wish to be allowed to enter the Promised Land. We have read about this in Numbers 20:12 and then in more detail in Numbers 27:12-23 where the whole congregation was present when Joshua was ‘anointed’ as Moses’ successor.
As I read Moses’ words, I felt his sadness and disappointment at the LORD not ‘hearkening’ to his ‘plea’. We read about Paul ‘pleading’ with Jesus in 2 Cor. 12:8-9 and his wish also not being granted because his strength was to be in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Hebrew word for plea is ‘riv’ which also carries the meaning of ‘to contend’, ‘to dispute’ and ‘to argue a case’. I thought this was the only time that Moses had pleaded for himself but then I came across Numbers 11:14-15 where Moses asks for death – which in God’s time only comes when he has prepared the next generation for being the People of God.
That leads me to exploring the ‘why’ of God not answering both prayers except in his own time. As a teacher, I have always thought of myself as someone who makes herself redundant – making way for others to take over the next part of the journey. Moses is the teacher passing on the ‘laws and regulations’ to the next generation to enter the Promised Land. He is also teaching the next generation to pass on the ‘commands’ of the LORD God to their children and their children’s children.
‘Shema’ is the Hebrew word for ‘listen’, ‘hear’ and Fox’s translation ‘hearken.’ This Hebrew word also carries the meanings of to ‘obey’ and ‘understand’.
This Parashah contains the list of the Commandments given on Mount Sinai (5:6 – 18) and the ‘Shema’ 6:4-9. The need to ‘hearken’ is concretised in phylacteries (tefillin) – ‘sign upon your hand’ and ‘bands between your eyes’ (v. 8) and the ‘mezuza’ (v. 9)
Fox speaks about ‘live’ as another recurring word. I have always believed that the ’10 Commandments’ describe a way for humanity to live. Imagine if we all regarded the commandments as a loyal and loving way to live in society!
I have also noticed that ‘fire’ appears in different contexts in this Parashah. The Hebrew noun is ‘esh and can be masculine or feminine. Its origin is uncertain and refers to both a figurative or literal fire. It is used to describe significant events like ‘The Presence of God’ – the ‘burning bush’ and the fire on Mount Sinai as well as the nightly leadership of the LORD God of the Israelites in the desert.
According to the late Walter Brueggemann in his book “The Bible makes Sense” p. 13: “The main theme of the Bible is covenantal history. It speaks of a peculiar memory and promise, a very particular identity and vocation.” We see this in our Parashah and the rest of the Torah.
For Reflection and Discussion:
1) Discuss the quotation from Brueggemann. What insight, if any, does it present to your understanding of the Bible?
This week’s Parashah Commentary was prepared by
Bernadette Teresa Chellew, KZN. South Africa, Bat Kol Alumna: 2008
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