This week’s Torah portion covers Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11. It is called Va’etchanan, which translates to “I pleaded,” because it begins with Moses pleading with God for permission to cross the Jordan River. Deuteronomy 3:22–25 records Moses saying:
At that time, I pleaded with the Lord: “Sovereign Lord, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do? Let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan—that fine hill country and Lebanon.”
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Though Moses is forbidden to cross the Jordan, he is permitted to gaze upon the valley from atop Pisgah.
Wisdom literature
Biblical scholars often point out that Deuteronomy stands apart linguistically and stylistically from Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. While the first four books of the Torah lean heavily into legal codes, historical chronicles, and narrative storytelling, Deuteronomy adopts the distinctive voice of wisdom literature. God’s commandments are not listed as arbitrary rules to obey under threat of punishment, but as the ultimate pathway to a flourishing, spiritual life.
Wisdom literature is concerned with internal disposition, moral character, and how a person processes experience. Deuteronomy repeatedly emphasizes the inner life—instructing the people to write the laws on their hearts, to watch themselves closely, and to consciously guard their memories against forgetfulness. Obedience is framed as an act of intellectual and spiritual alignment with the will of God. Deuteronomy 4:40 exhorts the Israelites:
Keep his statutes and his commandments, which I am commanding you today for your own well-being and that of your descendants after you, so that you may long remain in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for all time.
Moses understands the threat facing God’s people as they leave the protection and relative isolation of the desert. For forty years, they were totally dependent on God’s provisions. Military battles awaited, but so also does a settled life with more comforts and distractions than previously available in their encampments. The further they get from the miracles they witnessed in the desert and the more distance they gain from each other, the bigger the chance that it will all fade away from their hearts.
Moses warns the people to neither add to nor take away from the commandments. Obedience to their covenant will be a source of inspiration for the surrounding nations. Moses says:
You must observe them and perform them, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!” (4:6)
Traditional commentators point out that the covenant does not call Israel to force its statutes upon neighboring empires. Instead, the nation is meant to serve as an example. The surrounding peoples will watch the Israelites and draw their own conclusions about the character of God and the wisdom of his laws simply by observing the stability, justice, and spiritual vitality of the Israelite community.
The nations will also be aroused to jealousy in seeing the caring concern of Yahweh for the covenant people. Moses asks: “For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him?” (4:7)
In the ancient world, deities were distant, capricious forces tied exclusively to temples and royal courts, accessible only to high elites. The Bible introduces the one true God who is accessible to every single person whenever they call upon him.
Joshua Takes the Mantle
God instructs Moses to commission Joshua to lead the people across the Jordan to inherit the land. Rather than sinking into bitterness or abandoning his post, Moses secures the future of the nation under their new leader. Moses possesses the hallmark of a true shepherd. He accepts that his own role must end so the mission can continue.
The text bypasses Moses’ sons, Gershom and Eliezer, whose descendants fade into the background of biblical history. Instead, authority is granted based on character and spiritual qualifications. Joshua earns the mantle because he spent decades as Moses’ faithful attendant. Joshua was entirely devoted to God’s vision even when the rest of the community faltered.
As Moses’ devoted attendant from his youth, Joshua constantly protected his mentor’s position and defended his authority. We see this fierce loyalty on display in Numbers 11 when Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp. Joshua immediately jumped to his mentor’s defense, urging Moses to stop them out of protective jealousy for his leadership. As recorded in Numbers 13 and 14, Joshua served as one of the twelve spies sent into Canaan. While ten spies returned with a terrifying report that crippled the morale of the entire nation, Joshua and Caleb stood alone against the panicked crowd. They tore their clothes and fiercely defended God’s promise, pleading with the rebellious Israelites not to rebel against the Lord or fear the inhabitants of the land.
Shema
This week’s Torah portion also includes the most important proclamation in all of Judaism. As Moses contemplates the preservation of the Israelite faith and how best parents can impress the teachings upon their children, he pronounces:
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. (Deut. 6:4)
This verse is known in Hebrew as the Shema. It is considered the most critical piece of liturgy in all of Judaism, the great declaration of God’s oneness and his kingship. Jewish morning prayers and evening prayers include the Shema. The Shema is also part of the Shabbat prayers. On Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, the service climaxes with the communal recitation of the Shema.
According to tradition, if a Jewish person believes their death is imminent, they should recite the Shema so that it can be the last words on their lips. I have read stories of soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces in wartime reciting the Shema together in their tanks and from their lookouts.
When the Shema is recited, individuals often cover their eyes with their right hand to encourage absolute concentration and focus on the divine unity. After World War II was over and the reality of the number six million began to take hold, rescue groups and rabbinic leaders tried to locate Jewish orphans who had been sheltered across Europe.
In many cases, these children had suppressed their identity for years to evade capture and were terrified to reveal their origins to outsiders. Rescuers would visit children at bedtime and softly recite the opening lines of the Shema. By instinct, hearing those familiar Hebrew words whispered at dusk, the Jewish children would respond by covering their eyes.
The most critical key to the long story of Jewish survival is memory, passing along the stories, teachings, and prayers to the young and keeping their memories alive even if they were not there as eyewitnesses to the miracles. Moses pleads in Deuteronomy 4:9:
But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and to your children’s children.
The Jewish orphans shielding their eyes when they heard the Shema shows the power of Moses’s exhortation and the centuries it has been taken to heart.
Discussion Questions
1. The Burden of Leadership and Moses’ Prayer (Deuteronomy 3:23–29)
In this passage, Moses pleads with God to let him cross the Jordan, but God remains firm in His refusal, telling Moses, “Enough from you; do not speak to Me of this matter again.” Given Moses’ decades of faithful service, why do you think God’s response was so absolute? How does Moses’ transition of power to Joshua in this moment emphasize the idea that the covenant belongs to the community and God, rather than any single human leader?
2. The Interiority of the Law and the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4–9)
The Shema is arguably the most famous declaration in the Hebrew Bible, commanding Israel to love God with all their heart, soul, and might. Verses 6–9 describe a faith that is deeply integrated into daily life—recited at home, on the road, when lying down, and when rising. How does this command shift the focus of “the law” from a set of external rules to an internal state of being? What are the practical implications of “binding them as a sign on your hand” for a modern reader?
3. Election, Love, and the “Holy People” (Deuteronomy 7:6–11)
Moses explains that God chose Israel not because they were numerous or powerful, but because He loved them and was keeping an oath made to their ancestors. How does this explanation of “election” (being a chosen people) challenge the idea of merit-based reward? In the context of the harsh commands regarding the surrounding nations (7:1–5), how does Deuteronomy balance the concept of God’s universal sovereignty with the specific, set-apart holiness required of Israel?