Torah Reading for Week of Aug 3-9, 2014 - Av 7-13, 5774 Learning & Values » Parshah (Weekly Torah) » Devarim - Deuteronomy » Devarim Va’etchanan Aliyah Summary General Overview: In this week’s Torah reading, Va’etchanan, Moses continues his attempt to impress upon the Israelites the importance of following G‑d’s commandments, the rewards which will result from obeying G‑d’s words, and the punishments they will incur if they neglect to do so. Moses recounts the story of the giving of Torah at Mount Sinai, and repeats the Ten Commandments. Moses designates cities of refuge. This portion also contains the Shema. First Aliyah: Moses recounts how he pleaded with G‑d to allow him entry into Israel. G‑d refused this request, but instructed Moses to climb a mountain from where he would see the Promised Land. Moses enjoins the people to follow G‑d’s law, and never to add to or detract from it. Moses uses the Baal Peor incident to demonstrate that those who remained faithful to G‑d survived and thrived. Second Aliyah: Moses implores the Israelites to treasure the Torah, praising its wisdom, its righteous and just precepts, and the closeness to G‑d it affords. He admonishes them to never forget the day when G‑d gave them the Torah, and vividly describes that awesome event, enjoining them to recount that day’s events to their children and grandchildren. He then focuses on the divine revelation, reminding them that G‑d did not appear as any image or form. Worshipping graven images, Moses warns, will result in national exile and decimation. But even when exiled, G‑d will not forsake His people, and eventually they will repent and return to G‑d. This section concludes with Moses extolling the Israelites’ uniqueness: the only nation personally delivered by G‑d from bondage, and the only people to whom G‑d revealed Himself. Third Aliyah: Moses designates three cities of refuge on the eastern side of the Jordan River. These cities provided refuge for an individual who inadvertently murdered another. Fourth Aliyah: Moses repeats the Ten Commandments, reminding the Israelites that the Sinai covenant was not limited to those who were physically present at Mount Sinai. Fifth Aliyah: Moses describes the fright which gripped the nation following the revelation on Sinai. The leaders of the tribes approached Moses and pleaded that he be the intermediary to transmit G‑d’s words to them, and G‑d agreed. Sixth Aliyah: This section begins with the first section of the Shema prayer. This paragraph contains the fundamental mitzvot of belief in G‑d’s unity, love of G‑d, tefillin, mezuzah and Torah study. The section continues with G‑d’s promise to give the Israelites a land filled with bounty and spoils. Moses admonishes the people to never forget the Creator who provided them with this wealth. Moses instructs the nation what to respond to their children who might inquire why they observe all the commandments: “We were slaves in Egypt, and G‑d took us out in order that we serve Him, so that we could reap the rewards for doing so.” Seventh Aliyah: The Israelites are directed to destroy the inhabitants of Canaan along with their idols, and the prohibition against intermarriage is discussed. © Copyright, all rights reserved. If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply with Chabad.orgs copyright policy. Learning & Values » Parshah (Weekly Torah) » Devarim - Deuteronomy Haftorah for Vaetchanan The following is the standard Haftorah for this weeks Torah reading. However, various calendar-based considerations occasionally cause different Haftorahs to be substituted for the standard ones. Isaiah Chapter 40 1. Console, console My people, says your G-d. 2. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call to her, for she has become full [from] her host, for her iniquity has been appeased, for she has taken from the hand of the L-rd double for all her sins. 3. A voice calls, In the desert, clear the way of the L-rd, straighten out in the wilderness, a highway for our G-d. 4. Every valley shall be raised, and every mountain and hill shall be lowered, and the crooked terrain shall become a plain and the close mountains a champaigne. 5. And the glory of the L-rd shall be revealed, and all flesh together shall see that the mouth of the L-rd spoke. 6. A voice says, Call! and it says, What shall I call? All flesh is grass, and all its kindness is like the blossom of the field. 7. The grass shall dry out, the blossom shall wilt, for a wind from the L-rd has blown upon it; behold the people is grass. 8. The grass shall dry out, the blossom shall wilt, but the word of our G-d shall last forever. 9. Upon a lofty mountain ascend, O herald of Zion, raise your voice with strength, O herald of Jerusalem; raise [your voice], fear not; say to the cities of Judah, Behold your G-d! 10. Behold the L-rd G-d shall come with a strong [hand], and His arm rules for Him; behold His reward is with Him, and His recompense is before Him. 11. Like a shepherd [who] tends his flock, with his arm he gathers lambs, and in his bosom he carries [them], the nursing ones he leads. 12. Who measured water with his gait, and measured the heavens with his span, and measured by thirds the dust of the earth, and weighed mountains with a scale and hills with a balance? 13. Who meted the spirit of the L-rd, and His adviser who informs Him? 14. With whom did He take counsel give him to understand, and teach him in the way of justice, and teach him knowledge, and the way of understandings did He let him know? 15. Behold the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and like dust on a balance are they counted; behold the islands are like fine [dust] that blows away. 16. And the Lebanon-there is not enough to burn, and its beasts-there is not enough for burnt offerings. 17. All the nations are as nought before Him; as things of nought and vanity are they regarded by Him. 18. And to whom do you compare G-d, and what likeness do you arrange for Him? 19. The graven image, the craftsman has melted, and the smith plates it with gold, and chains of silver he attaches. 20. He who is accustomed to select, chooses a tree that does not rot; he seeks for himself a skilled craftsman, to prepare a graven image, which will not move. 21. Do you not know, have you not heard has it not been told to you from the beginning? Do you not understand the foundations of the earth? 22. It is He Who sits above the circle of the earth, and whose inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heaven like a curtain, and He spread them out like a tent to dwell. 23. Who brings princes to nought, judges of the land He made like a thing of nought. 24. Even [as though] they were not planted, even [as though] they were not sown, even [as though] their trunk was not rooted in the earth; and also He blew on them, and they dried up, and a tempest shall carry them away like straw. 25. Now, to whom will you compare Me that I should be equal? says the H-ly One. 26. Lift up your eyes on high and see, who created these, who takes out their host by number; all of them He calls by name; because of His great might and because He is strong in power, no one is missing. Please note: These Haftorah texts follow Chabad custom. Other communities could possibly read more, less, or a different section of the Prophets altogether. Please consult with your rabbi. 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Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 02:42:53 +0000
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