August 2, 2025: Torah Portion Parashat Devarim - "Words"
- Dr. Hadassah Elia
- Aug 2
- 8 min read
In this study, we will explore the Torah Portion Devarim - "Words"
Torah Portion: Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22
Haftarah: Isaiah 1:1-27
Brit Chadashah (New Testament): Acts 9:1-21
🗓 Shabbat Chazon (שבת חזון) – “Sabbath of Vision”
This is the last Shabbat before Tisha B’Av, a solemn time of mourning for the destruction of both Temples. The name comes from the opening word of the Haftarah, Chazon Yeshayahu – “the vision of Isaiah.” It calls Israel to repentance.
Devarim - "Words"
📜 This Parashah begins the fifth and final book of the Torah. Moses, standing on the edge of the Promised Land, recounts the key events of Israel’s 40-year wilderness journey.
🧭 Key Themes:
• Rebuke with Love: Moses reviews Israel’s failures, but not to shame them — to prepare their hearts to obey in the land.
• Appointed Leaders: Moses recalls the appointment of judges to help carry the burden of leadership.
• Refusal to Enter the Land: The people’s unbelief at the report of the spies is remembered.
• Encounters in the Wilderness: Battles with Sihon and Og, victories granted by Adonai.
• Joshua Commissioned: Moses encourages Joshua not to fear — “Do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God Himself fights for you.” (Deut 3:22)
The concluding book of the Torah of Moses is called Devarim - "words" or "things", from the phrase eleh ha'devarim - "these are the words..." found in its opening verse. In our English Bibles, Sefer Devarim: ספר דברים is known as the Book of "Deuteronomy," from a Greek word meaning "second (or repeated) law", a term used to translate the phrase mishneh ha-Torah - "copy of the Torah," (Deut. 17:18).
Generally speaking, this book represents Moses' "farewell address" to Israel, where he reviews and summarizes the history and the laws given to the people and repeatedly warns that obedience will bring blessing while disobedience will bring disaster.
The series of personal discourses (or sermons) in this book all have the tone of rebuke and admonition, and indeed some sages say it resembles a sort of "deathbed blessing" not unlike Jacob's blessing given to his sons.
The first traditional Torah portion of the book is named after the book itself, which begins:
The book begins 37 days before Moses was to die, during the fortieth year since the Exodus from Egypt, on the first day of the eleventh month (of Shevat).
As such, the book has the overall tone of a farewell discourse from Moses to the children of Israel. In fact, unlike the previous four books of the Torah, the speaker in Deuteronomy is Moses himself, and even the recounting of various laws and ordinances are recorded as part of the addresses he gave.
(Note that some commentators believe that Deuteronomy is actually a compilation of discourses that Moses gave while the Israelites were in the wilderness, since Deut. 1:1b can be read as "on the other side of the Jordan - through the wilderness," that is, while the Israelites wandered in the wilderness.)
The parashah (and book) opens with the Israelites in the land of Moav (Moab), just east of the Jordan, shortly before they would enter the Promised Land. Since Moses was disallowed entrance to the land, his first discourse was concerned with making plain the Torah to the people:
"On the east side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying:" Deuteronomy 1:5
This was so that they would clearly recall the LORD's instructions once they took possession of the land. Moses begins his discourse by reviewing the events that occurred in the course of their 40 year journey from Egypt to Sinai, and then from Sinai to the land of Moab.
An abbreviated outline of the parashah is given here:
1. Leaving Sinai (Deut. 1:1-8)
2. Appointing of roshim - leaders (Deut. 1:9-18)
3. The sin of the spies and the rebellion at Kadesh Barnea (Deut. 1:19-33)
4. The penalty of Israel's unbelief (Deut. 1:34-46)
5. The wilderness years (Deut. 2:1-23)
6. The defeat of Sichon (Deut. 2:24-37)
7. The defeat of Og (Deut. 3:1-11)
8. The allotment for the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh (Deut. 3:12-20).
9. The message delivered to his successor, Yehoshua (Joshua), who was charged with leading the Israelites in the conquest of the Promised Land.
It has been noted that the structure and form of the book resembles an ancient middle-east covenant treaty between a sovereign king and his vassals, with a:
Preamble (1:1-5)
A historical prologue (1:6-4:49)
Covenantal obligations (5:1-26:19)
Blessings and curses (27:1-30:20)
A concluding section (31:1-34:12).
The sovereign LORD, would be the King of the land that He was giving to the Israelites, and they, in turn, were to love and obey Him as His vassals.
Moses' speech was heard literally by kol Yisrael - all of Israel - meaning that all 600,000 people heard the message as if it were spoken directly to him!
After Mose's introduction (Deut. 1:1-5), he reminded the people what ADONAI had said:
"6The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates.
8See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.” Deuteronomy 1:6-8
Moses commanded them to get on with the journey to possess the Promised Land! But Moses was overwhelmed, since the people had multiplied in fulfillment of the LORD's promise to Abraham. Moses certainly wasn't complaining at the increase of Israel, and he even interjected the following blessing:
This blessing hearkens back to the promises made to Abraham to whom the LORD promised that his descendants would be as innumerable as the stars in the heavens (Genesis 15:5), the grains of sand on the seashore (Genesis 22:17), and as the dust of the earth (Genesis 28:14).
V'imru, Amen!
🔥 Messianic Insight:
Parallel to Moses, YESHUA also rebuked His disciples in love:
"25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself." Luke 24:25-27
He taught them to learn from Israel’s past failures, and to walk in faith. Moses and YESHUA both longed to prepare a people to enter into the promises of God.
📜 Haftarah: Isaiah 1:1–27
The Shabbat that immediately precedes the fast of Tishah B'Av is called Shabbat Chazon (the "Sabbath of the Vision") since the Haftarah that is read (Isaiah 1:1-25) describes the vision of the prophet Isaiah regarding the imminent destruction of the Temple:
"Hear, O heavens and give ear, O earth, For the LORD has spoken; Though I brought up and raised My children, They have rebelled against me." Isaiah 1:2
This is a strong prophetic rebuke to Judah for their rebellion. It speaks of corrupt worship, neglected justice, and a call to repent and be cleansed.
When it was first recorded, Isaiah's vision of the destruction to come was still future, and the Jews still had a chance to repent before the great tragedy befell them. However, since they refused to do teshuvah (turn back to ADONAI), calamity overtook them.
Today the Haftarah is traditionally chanted to the same haunting melody as Megilat Eichah (Lamentations), written by the prophet Jeremiah, who was an eyewitness to the destruction and fall of Judah and Jerusalem.
🔑 Key Verses:
• “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” Isaiah 1:18
• “Zion will be redeemed with justice, her repentant ones with righteousness.” Isaiah 1:27
💔 Parallel to Parashah Devarim:
Isaiah speaks just before the Babylonian exile, a parallel to Moses’ warnings in Devarim.
The hearts of the people are stubborn — outward rituals remain, but the heart is far from God.
During the last nine days of the Three Weeks of Sorrow (Tishah B'Av) it is common to confess the sins in our lives that likewise contribute to the lack of God's Presence in our midst.
"Turn us back to You, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old" Lamentations 5:21
Though Shabbat Chazon is a time of mourning, it is also a time for hope. The Torah reading for Shabbat Chazon is always Parashat Devarim, the first portion of the Book of Deuteronomy.
In this reading, Moses details the victorious battles with Sihon the king of Amorites and Og the king of Bashan.
Because it speaks of God's victory, we are filled with hope that the LORD is faithful! He watches over His Word to perform it and will fulfill His promises of not only physical victories of deliverances for Israel, but spiritual deliverances, as well - most importantly SALVATION IN MESSIAH YESHUA!!
"25I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written:
“The deliverer will come from Zion;
he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27And this is my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”" Romans 11:25-27
On the 9th of Av, after 40 days scouting the Promised Land, the spies returned to the camp of Israel at Kadesh. Instead of reporting back to Moses and Aaron, however, the spies appealed directly to the people, warning Israel that it would be impossible for them to conquer the nations who lived there, especially since they lived in fortified cities.
Only Yehoshua (Joshua) and Kalev (Caleb) showed genuine emunah (faith) and insisted that the land could be vanquished, just as the LORD had promised!
📖 B’rit Hadashah Readings:
1. Matthew 24:1–22 – YESHUA predicts the destruction of the Temple. This connects directly with the theme of Tisha B’Av and Moses’ warnings in Devarim.
“Not one stone will be left on another…” Matthew 24:2
2. Acts 7:51–53 – Stephen rebukes Israel, echoing Moses and Isaiah
“You always resist the RUACH HA'KODESH (Holy Spirit)! Just as your fathers did…”
Acts 7:51
3. Hebrews 3:7–19 – A warning not to harden the heart as in the wilderness
“They shall not enter My rest…” Hebrews 3:19
🕊 Holy Spirit Emphasis for This Week (for RONI School & KLU University):
• The RUACH HA'KODESH (Holy Spirit) gives us vision (Shabbat Chazon = “Vision”)
"Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he." Proverbs 29:18
• This is a week to repent, return, and prepare our hearts — not just to remember historical loss, but to awaken us to what still grieves the Spirit today.
• Ask yourself: Are there areas where we’ve wandered 40 years in circles?
Where are we refusing to enter His promises?
Please HELP us continue to make a positive impact, partner with us in this vision!
How You Can Make a Difference:
Pray for Our Mission: We need your prayers as we move forward with this important ministry. Pray for favor, resources, and divine guidance.
PARTNER WITH US - YOUR DONATIONS ARE ALL TAX EXEMPT IN THE UNITED STATES:
We have so many projects and we need your help, for the glory of Adonai! Please DONATE to help keep us going.
All of the ministry funds to Restore Israel is for ministerial, educational and charitable purposes. Restore Israel is recognized as a non-profit 501(c)3 organization in the United States.
Your financial support is crucial to making this vision a reality. Whether you give a one-time gift or set up monthly support, every contribution is an investment into the Kingdom of God as we work in producing MUSIC, MEDIA, MERCY MISSIONS, etc...
SHARE the Vision: Help spread the word. SHARE this newsletter with friends, family, and others who might feel called to support this mission!
Comments