At first glance, the portion of Devarim is a random recapitulation of events the Jews experienced in the desert. It seems unstructured and repetitive. Yet, a closer look reveals that there is a logical form at work.

The first major section deals with the experiences and episodes of the Jews during the first two years in the desert, up until God’s decree that we were to wander there for 40 years.

This section describes God telling us immediately after our departure for Egypt that we will enter the land of Israel. (Deuteronomy 1:6-8) In preparation for that entry, Moshe (Moses) lays out a system of jurisprudence necessary for the proper functioning of the nation. (Deuteronomy 1:9-18) With Am Yisrael now ready to enter the land, (Deuteronomy 1:19-20) the people ask Moshe to send spies to Canaan to investigate how it can best be conquered. A description of the spy story follows with the recounting of God’s decree that the Jews would wander in the desert for 40 years. (Deuteronomy 1:21-48)

The second section in Devarim (Chapters 2,3) is a brief review of what happened to Am Yisrael in the last two years of its wanderings. Here is described our contacts with the nations of Edom, Moab, Amon, Sichon and Bashan as we took a circuitous route into the land. What follows is Moshe’s unsuccessful appeal to God that he be permitted to enter the land found in the beginning of next week’s portion, Va-etchanan.

Rabbi David Tzvi Hoffman points out that these two sections open and close with similar phraseology setting them off as distinct units. The first section begins with the phrase “rav lakhem, it is enough [that you’ve been at Sinai]” and “pnu lekhem, turn [to the land of Israel].” (Deuteronomy 1:6-7) The second section begins with similar terminology: “rav lakhem, it is enough [that you’ve wandered here in the desert],” “pnu lekhem, turn [to enter the land of Israel].” (Deuteronomy 2:3)

Each section, writes Rabbi Hoffman, similarly conclude with similar words—vateyshvu and vaneyshev. (Deuteronomy 1:46, Deuteronomy 43:9)

Both of these sections are preceded by the first five sentences in Deuteronomy which summarize the forty years described in brief in the first two sections we have already discussed. The first two sentences of Deuteronomy are headlines for the earlier events as found in the first section, and the next three sentences for the final happenings as laid out in the second section.

A mere surface reading suggests that Deuteronomy is a book which haphazardly repeats our travels through the desert. Yet, when one looks deeper and more carefully, one realizes that Devarim is a book of exact and precise structure—much like the entire Torah.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Avi Weiss