Haazinu, Ha'azinu, or Ha'Azinu (—

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

for "listen" when directed to more than one person, the first word in the parashah) is the 53rd

weekly Torah portion The weekly Torah portion refers to a lectionary custom in Judaism in which a portion of the Torah (or Pentateuch) is read during Jewish prayer services on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The full name, ''Parashat HaShavua'' (), is popularly abbre ...

(, ''parashah'') in the annual Jewish cycle of

Torah reading Torah reading (; ') is a Jewish religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) from the Torah ark, chanting the ap ...

and the 10th in the

Book of Deuteronomy Deuteronomy (; ) is the fifth book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called () which makes it the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. Chapters 1–30 of the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to ...

. It constitutes Deuteronomy 32:1–52. The parashah sets out the

Song of Moses The Song of Moses is the poem which appears in Deuteronomy of the Hebrew Bible, which according to the Bible was delivered just prior to Moses' death on Mount Nebo. Sometimes the Song is referred to as Deuteronomy 32, despite the fact that Deute ...

—an

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an ind ...

of the

Israelites Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...

' sins, a prophecy of their punishment, and a promise of God's ultimate redemption of them. The

parashah The term ''parashah'', ''parasha'' or ''parashat'' ( ''Pārāšâ'', "portion", Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian , Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardi , plural: ''parashot'' or ''parashiyot'', also called ''parsha'') formally means a section of a biblical book ...

is made up of 2,326 Hebrew letters, 614 Hebrew words, 52 verses, and 92 lines in a Torah Scroll (, ''

Sefer Torah file:SeferTorah.jpg, A Sephardic Torah scroll rolled to the first paragraph of the Shema file:Köln-Tora-und-Innenansicht-Synagoge-Glockengasse-040.JPG, An Ashkenazi Torah scroll rolled to the Decalogue file:Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue, Inte ...

''). Jews read it on a

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

between the

holy days A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...

Rosh Hashanah Rosh Hashanah (, , ) is the New Year in Judaism. The Hebrew Bible, biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , ). It is the first of the High Holy Days (, , 'Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summe ...

and

Sukkot Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths, is a Torah-commanded Jewish holiday celebrated for seven days, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals on which Israelite ...

, generally in September or October. The bulk of the parashah, the song of Deuteronomy 32:1–43, appears in the Torah scroll in a distinctive two-column format, reflecting the poetic structure of the text, where in each line, an opening colon is matched by a second, parallel thought unit.

Readings

In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or , '' aliyot''. In the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...

of the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' peh'')). The first open portion spans nearly the entire parashah, except for the concluding

maftir Maftir () is the last person called up to the Torah on Shabbat and holiday mornings: this person also reads (or at least recites the blessings over) the ''haftarah'' portion from a related section of the Nevi'im (prophetic books). Informally, t ...

() reading. The second open portion is coincident with the maftir () reading. Parashat Haazinu has no "closed portion" (, ''setumah'') subdivisions (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter (''

samekh Samekh or samech is the fifteenth Letter (alphabet), letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician ''sāmek'' 𐤎, Hebrew alphabet, Hebrew ''sāmeḵ'' , Aramaic alphabet, Aramaic ''samek'' 𐡎, and Syriac alphabet, Syr ...

'')).

First reading—Deuteronomy 32:1–6

In the first reading,

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

called on heaven and earth to hear his words, and asked that his speech be like rain and dew for the grass. Moses proclaimed that God was perfect in deed, just, faithful, true, and upright. God's children were unworthy, a crooked generation that played God false, ill requiting the

Creator Creator or The Creator may refer to: Film and television * ''Creator'' (film), a 1985 film starring Peter O'Toole, Vincent Spano, Mariel Hemingway, and Virginia Madsen * ''The Creator'' (1999 film), a French film written and directed by and sta ...

. The first reading ends here.

Second reading—Deuteronomy 32:7–12

In the second reading, Moses exhorted the Israelites to remember that in ages past, God assigned the nations their homes and their due, but chose the Israelites as God's own people. God found the Israelites in the desert, watched over them, guarded them, like an

eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

who rouses his nestlings, gliding down to his young, God spread God's wings and took Israel, bearing Israel along on God's pinions, God alone guided Israel. The second reading ends here.

Third reading—Deuteronomy 32:13–18

In the third reading, God set the Israelites atop the

highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Africa * Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa * Highlands, Harare, Zimbab ...

to feast on the yield of the earth and fed them

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

curd Curd is obtained by Denaturation (biochemistry), coagulating milk in a sequential process called curdling. It can be a final dairy product or the first stage in cheesemaking. The coagulation can be caused by adding rennet, a Kefir cheese, ...

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

, lamb,

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

, and

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

. So Israel grew

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specif ...

and kicked and forsook God, incensed God with alien things, and

sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...

d to

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

s and no-gods. The third reading ends here.

Fourth reading—Deuteronomy 32:19–28

In the fourth reading, God saw, was vexed, and hid God's countenance from them, to see how they would fare. For they were a treacherous breed, children with no loyalty, who incensed God with no-gods, vexed God with their idols; thus God would incense them with a no-folk and vex them with a nation of fools. A fire flared in God's wrath and burned down to the base of the hills. God would sweep misfortunes on them, use God's arrows on them—famine, plague, pestilence, and fanged beasts—and with the sword would deal death and terror to young and old alike. God might have reduced them to nothing, made their memory cease among men, except for fear of the taunts of their enemies, who might misjudge and conclude that their own hand had prevailed and not God's. For Israel's enemies were a folk void of sense, lacking in discernment. The fourth reading ends here.

Fifth reading—Deuteronomy 32:29–39

In the fifth reading, God wished that they were wise, then they would think about this, and gain insight into their future, for they would recognize that one could not have routed a thousand unless God had given them over. They were like

Sodom and Gomorrah In the Abrahamic religions, Sodom and Gomorrah () were two cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Sodom and Gomorrah are repeatedly invoked throughout the Hebrew Bible, Deuterocanonical texts, and the New Testament as symbols of sin, di ...

and their wine was the venom of asps. God stored it away to be the basis for God's vengeance and recompense when they should trip, for their day of disaster was near. God would vindicate God's people and take revenge for God's servants, when their might was gone. God would ask where the enemies' gods were—they who ate the fat of their offerings and drank their libation wine—let them rise up to help! There was no god beside God, who dealt death and gave life, wounded and healed. The fifth reading ends here.

Sixth reading—Deuteronomy 32:40–43

In the sixth reading, God swore that when God would whet God's flashing blade, and lay hand on judgment, God would wreak vengeance on God's foes. God would make God's arrows drunk with blood, as God's sword devoured flesh, blood of the slain and the captive from the long-haired enemy chiefs. God would avenge the blood of God's servants, wreak vengeance on God's foes, and cleanse the

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land sur ...

of God's people. The sixth reading ends here. Dead Sea from Mt Nebo

Seventh reading—Deuteronomy 32:44–52

In the seventh reading, Moses came, together with

Joshua Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...

, and recited all this

poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

to the people. And when Moses finished reciting, he told them to take his warnings to heart and enjoin them upon their children, for it was not a trifling thing but their very life at stake. The first open portion ends here. In the maftir () reading of Deuteronomy 32:48–52 that concludes the parashah, God told Moses to ascend

Mount Nebo Mount Nebo (; ) is an elevated ridge located in Jordan, approximately Height above sea level, above sea level. Part of the Abarim mountain range, Mount Nebo is mentioned in the Bible as the place where Moses was granted a view of the Promised L ...

and view the land of

Canaan CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...

, for he was to die on the mountain, as his brother

Aaron According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...

had died on

Mount Hor Mount Hor (Hebrew: , romanized: ''Hōr hāHār'') is the name given in the Hebrew Bible to two distinct mountains. One borders the land of Edom in the area south of the Dead Sea, and the other is by the Mediterranean Sea at the Northern border ...

, for they both broke faith with God when they struck the rock to produce water in the

wilderness of Zin 250px, The Wilderness is in the south The Wilderness of Zin or the Desert of Zin (, ''Mīḏbar Ṣīn'') is a geographic term with two meanings, one biblical and one modern Israeli, which are not necessarily identical. Biblical deserts Desert ...

, failing to uphold God's sanctity among the Israelite people. The seventh reading, the second open portion, and the parashah end here.

Readings according to the triennial cycle

Jews who read the Torah according to the

triennial cycle The Triennial cycle of Torah reading may refer to either * The historical practice in ancient Israel by which the entire Torah was read in serial fashion over a three-year period, or * The practice adopted by many Reform, Conservative, Reconstruct ...

of Torah reading nonetheless read the entire parashah of Haazinu every year according to the schedule of readings above.

In inner-Biblical interpretation

The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these Biblical sources: Moses calls heaven and earth to serve as

witness In law, a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, either oral or written, of what they know or claim to know. A witness might be compelled to provide testimony in court, before a grand jur ...

es against Israel in Deuteronomy 4:26, 30:19, 31:28, and 32:1. Similarly,

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of H ...

50:4–5 reports that God "summoned the heavens above, and the earth, for the trial of His people," saying "Bring in My devotees, who made a covenant with Me over sacrifice!" Psalm 50:6 continues: "Then the heavens proclaimed His righteousness, for He is a God who judges." And in

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...

1:2, the

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

similarly begins his vision, "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord has spoken." In Deuteronomy 32:4, 15, 18, 30, and 31, Moses called God a "Rock."

did so, as well, in Isaiah 17:10, 26:4, and 30:29;

Habakkuk Habakkuk or Habacuc is the main figure described in the Book of Habakkuk, the eighth of the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Hebrew Bible. He is traditionally regarded as a prophet active around 612 BCE. Almost all information about Habakkuk is dr ...

1:12; and the Psalmist in Psalms 19:15, 23:3, 28:1, and 95:1. Psalm 18:3 analogizes God's role as a Rock to a "fortress" and a "high tower." Deuteronomy compares God's relationship with Israel to that of a parent and child in Deuteronomy 1:31, 8:5, and 32:5. For similar comparisons, see

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

4:22–23, Isaiah 1:2, and

Hosea In the Hebrew Bible, Hosea ( or ; ), also known as Osee (), son of Beeri, was an 8th-century BC prophet in Israel and the nominal primary author of the Book of Hosea. He is the first of the Twelve Minor Prophets, whose collective writing ...

11:1. In Deuteronomy 32:10, God finds Israel in the wilderness, much as in Hosea 9:10, God says, "I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first-ripe in the fig tree at her first season." Like Deuteronomy 32:11, God compares God’s self to an eagle in Exodus 19:4, saying "I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to myself." Psalm 91 interprets the role of God as an eagle in Deuteronomy 32:11. Psalm 91:4 explains, "He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you take refuge," and Psalm 91:5 explains, "You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day." Deuteronomy 32:13 told how God "set him atop the highlands (, ''al-bamatei'')." And in

Amos Amos or AMOS may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Amos'' (album), an album by Michael Ray * Amos (band), an American Christian rock band * ''Amos'' (film), a 1985 American made-for-television drama film * Amos (guitar), a 1958 Gibson Fl ...

4:13, the 8th century BCE prophet

speaks of God "Who . . . treads upon the high places (, ''al-bamatei'') of the earth."

In classical rabbinic interpretation

The parashah is discussed in these

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

nic sources from the era of the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

and the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

The

Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael The Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael ( IPA , "a collection of rules of interpretation") is midrash halakha to the Book of Exodus. The Aramaic title ''Mekhilta'' corresponds to the Mishnaic Hebrew term ' "measure," "rule", and is used to denote a compi ...

counted 10 songs in the Hebrew Bible: (1) the song that the Israelites recited at the first

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, as Isaiah 30:29 says, "You shall have a song as in the night when a feast is hallowed"; (2) the

Song of the Sea The Song of the Sea (, ''Shirat HaYam''; also known as ''Az Yashir Moshe'' and Song of Moses, or ''Mi Chamocha'') is a poem that appears in the Book of Exodus of the Hebrew Bible, at . It is followed in verses 20 and 21 by a much shorter song su ...

in Exodus 15 (3) the song that the Israelites sang at the well in the wilderness, as

Numbers A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

21:17 reports, "Then sang Israel this song: 'Spring up, O well'"; (4) the song that Moses spoke in his last days, as Deuteronomy 31:30 reports, "Moses spoke in the ears of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song"; (5) the song that Joshua recited, as

10:12 reports, "Then spoke Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the

Amorite The Amorites () were an ancient Northwest Semitic-speaking Bronze Age people from the Levant. Initially appearing in Sumerian records c. 2500 BC, they expanded and ruled most of the Levant, Mesopotamia and parts of Egypt from the 21st century BC ...

s"; (6) the song that

Deborah According to the Book of Judges, Deborah (, ''Dəḇōrā'') was a prophetess of Judaism, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel, and the only female judge mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Many scholars contend that the phrase, "a woman of Lap ...

and

Barak Barak ( or ; ; Tiberian Hebrew: '' Bārāq''; "lightning") was a ruler of Ancient Israel. As military commander in the biblical Book of Judges, Barak, with Deborah, from the Tribe of Ephraim, the prophet and fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israe ...

sang, as

Judges A judge is an official who presides over a court. Judge or Judges may also refer to: Roles *Judge, an alternative name for an adjudicator in a competition in theatre, music, sport, etc. *Judge, an alternative name/aviator call sign for a membe ...

5:1 reports, "Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of

Abinoam Abinoam (a-bin'-o-am, ab-i-no'-am, Biblical Hebrew: ''אבינעם''), from Kedesh-naphtali, was the father of Barak who defeated Jabin's army, led by Sisera. He is mentioned only in Judges 4:6, 4:12 and 5:12. The name means "the (divine) father ...

"; (7) the song that

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

spoke, as

2 Samuel The Book of Samuel () is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) that constitute a theological ...

22:1 reports, "David spoke to the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of

Saul Saul (; , ; , ; ) was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the first king of the United Monarchy, a polity of uncertain historicity. His reign, traditionally placed in the late eleventh c ...

"; (8) the song that

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

recited, as Psalm 30:1 reports, "a song at the Dedication of the

House of David The Davidic line refers to the descendants of David, who established the House of David ( ) in the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah. In Judaism, the lineage is based on texts from the Hebrew Bible, as well as on later Jewish tradit ...

"; (9) the song that

Jehoshaphat Jehoshaphat (; alternatively spelled Jehosaphat, Josaphat, or Yehoshafat; ; ; ), according to the Hebrew Bible, was the son of Asa, and the fourth king of the Kingdom of Judah, in succession to his father. His children included Jehoram, who ...

recited, as

2 Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( , "words of the days") is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third section of the Jewish Tan ...

20:21 reports: "when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing to the Lord, and praise in the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and say, 'Give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy endures forever'"; and (10) the song that will be sung in the time to come, as Isaiah 42:10 says, "Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise from the end of the earth," and Psalm 149:1 says, "Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the assembly of the saints." The

Gemara The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemore) is an essential component of the Talmud, comprising a collection of rabbinical analyses and commentaries on the Mishnah and presented in 63 books. The term is derived from the Aram ...

instructs that when writing a Torah scroll, a scribe needs to write the song of Deuteronomy 32:1–43 in a special two-column form, with extra spaces. (See the image at the top of this article.) If a scribe writes the song as plain text, then the scroll is invalid. Rabbi

Samuel ben Nahman Samuel ben Nahman (), or Samuel arNahmani (), was a rabbi and amora mentioned throughout the Talmud and Midrashic literature who lived in the Land of Israel from the beginning of the 3rd century CE until the start of the 4th century CE. Biograp ...

asked why Moses called upon both the heavens and the earth in Deuteronomy 32:1. Rabbi Samuel compared Moses to a general who held office in two provinces and was about to hold a feast. He needed to invite people from both provinces, so that neither would feel offended for having been overlooked. Moses was born on earth, but became great in heaven. Rabbi Jeremiah ben Eleazar taught that after Moses called upon the heavens to "give ear" in Deuteronomy 32:1, the heavens silenced according to God's decree. Rabbi Joḥanan taught that God made a stipulation with the sea that it should divide before the Israelites in Exodus 14:21; thus Exodus 14:27 says, "And the sea returned (, ''le-etano'')," that is, in accordance with its agreement (, ''li-tenao''). Rabbi Jeremiah ben Eleazar taught that God made such a stipulation with everything that was created in the six days of creation, as Isaiah 45:12 says, "I, even My hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded." God thus commanded the sea to divide in Exodus 14:21, the heavens to be silent before Moses in Deuteronomy 32:1, the sun and the moon to stand still before Joshua in Joshua 10:12, the ravens to feed

Elijah Elijah ( ) or Elias was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worsh ...

1 Kings The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of ancient Israel also including ...

17:6, the fire to do no harm to

Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Hebrew names Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) are figures from chapter 3 of the biblical Book of Daniel. In the narrative, the three Jewish men are thrown into a fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylo ...

Daniel Daniel commonly refers to: * Daniel (given name), a masculine given name and a surname * List of people named Daniel * List of people with surname Daniel * Daniel (biblical figure) * Book of Daniel, a biblical apocalypse, "an account of the acti ...

3, the

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

s not to harm

in Daniel 6, the heavens to open before

Ezekiel Ezekiel, also spelled Ezechiel (; ; ), was an Israelite priest. The Book of Ezekiel, relating his visions and acts, is named after him. The Abrahamic religions acknowledge Ezekiel as a prophet. According to the narrative, Ezekiel prophesied ...

1:1; and the fish to vomit forth

Jonah Jonah the son of Amittai or Jonas ( , ) is a Jewish prophet from Gath-hepher in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE according to the Hebrew Bible. He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, one of the minor proph ...

2:11. Similarly, a

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

taught that God said that if you incline your ear to the Torah, then when you begin speaking the Words of the Torah, all will remain silent before you and listen. The Midrash taught that we learn this from Moses, for because he inclined his ear to the Torah, when he came to begin speaking the words of the Torah, both the heavenly and the earthly beings remained silent and listened. And the Midrash taught that we know this from the words of Moses in Deuteronomy 32:1, "Give ear, you heavens, and I will speak." The

Sifre Sifre (; ''siphrēy'', ''Sifre, Sifrei'', also, ''Sifre debe Rab'' or ''Sifre Rabbah'') refers to either of two works of '' Midrash halakha'', or classical Jewish legal biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Numbers and Deuteronomy. ...

taught that Israel would come before God and acknowledge that heaven and earth, the witnesses that God designated in Deuteronomy 32:1, were present to testify against her, but God would say that God would remove them, as Isaiah 65:17 reports that God would "create a new heaven and a new earth." Israel would say to God that her bad name endured, but God would say that God would remove her bad name as well, as Isaiah 62:2 reports that Israel "shall be called by a new name." Israel would ask God whether God had not prohibited her reconciliation with God when

Jeremiah Jeremiah ( – ), also called Jeremias, was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, book that bears his name, the Books of Kings, and the Book of Lamentations, with t ...

3:1 says, "If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return to her again?" But God would reply in the words of Hosea 11:9, "I am God, and not man." (And thus God would forgive Israel and restore her original relationship with God.) In Deuteronomy 32:2, "My doctrine (, ''likḥi'') shall drop as the rain," Rav Judah read "doctrine" (, ''lekaḥ'') to mean Torah, as

Proverbs A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbial ...

4:2 states, "For I give you good doctrine (, ''lekaḥ''); do not forsake My Torah." Rav Judah thus concluded that a day with rain is as great as the day on which God gave the Torah. Rava argued that rainfall is even greater than the day on which God gave the Torah, as Deuteronomy 32:2 says, "My doctrine shall drop as the rain," and when one makes a comparison, one compares a lesser thing to a greater thing. Thus, Rava argued, if Deuteronomy 32:2 compares Torah to rain, rain must be greater than Torah. Rava also inferred from the comparison in Deuteronomy 32:2 of Torah to both rain and dew that Torah can affect a worthy scholar as beneficially as dew, and an unworthy one like a crushing rainstorm.

Rabbi Berekhiah R. Berekiah (or R. Berekhyah; , read as ''Rabbi Berekhyah'') was an '' Amora'' of the Land of Israel, of the fourth generation of the Amora era. He is known for his work on the Aggadah Aggadah (, or ; ; 'tales', 'legend', 'lore') is the non-leg ...

read Deuteronomy 32:2, "My doctrine shall drop (, ''ya'arof'') as the rain," to teach that if we bow our necks (, ''oref'') in repentance, then the rain (for which we pray when it is absent) will fall immediately. Rav Judah also read Deuteronomy 32:2 to compare Torah to the four winds. Rav Judah read "My doctrine shall drop (, ''ya'arof'') as the rain" to refer to the west wind, which comes from the back of (, ''me'orpo'') the world, as the west was also referred to as the back. Rav Judah read "My speech shall distill (, ''tizzal'') as the dew" to refer to the north wind, which brings dry air that reduces the rain and grain and thereby devalues (, ''mazzelet'') gold (for when grain becomes scarce, its price rises, and the relative value of gold declines). Rav Judah read "As the small rain (, ''kisirim'') upon the tender growth" to refer to the east wind that rages through (, ''maseret'') the entire world like a demon (, ''sa'ir'') when it blows strongly. And Rav Judah read "And as the showers upon the herb" to refer to the south wind, which raises showers and causes herbs to grow. The Sifre read Deuteronomy 32:2, "like showers on young growths," to teach that just as showers fall on grass and make it grow and develop, so words of Torah make people grow and develop. Rabbi

Abbahu Rabbi Abbahu () was a Jew and Talmudist of the Talmudic Academies in Syria Palaestina from about 279 to 320 CE and is counted a member of the third generation of Amoraim. He is sometimes cited as Rabbi Abbahu of Kisrin (Caesarea Maritima). Biog ...

cited Deuteronomy 32:3 to support the proposition of Mishnah Berakhot 7:1 that three who have eaten together publicly should say the Grace after Meals (, ''

Birkat Hamazon Birkat Hamazon ( "The Blessing of the Food"), known in English as the Grace After Meals ( "to bless", Yinglish: Bentsching), is a set of Hebrew language, Hebrew blessings that Halakha, Jewish law prescribes following a meal that includes at le ...

'') together as well. In Deuteronomy 32:3, Moses says, "When I (who am one) proclaim the name of the Lord, you (in the plural, who are thus at least two more) ascribe greatness to our God." Thus by using the plural to for "you," Moses implies that at least three are present, and they should ascribe greatness to God. Similarly, the Gemara taught that from Deuteronomy 32:3, "When I proclaim the name of the Lord, ascribe greatness to our God," one may derive the commandment to recite a blessing over the Torah before it is read, reading Deuteronomy 32:3 to teach that before one proclaims God's name by reading the Torah, one should give glory to God. In the Sifre,

Rabbi Jose Jose ben Helpetha, commonly known as Jose ben Halafta () was a tanna of the fourth generation (2nd century CE). He is the fifth-most-frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah. Yose Ben Halafta is the one of two rabbis called Rabbi Yose in the Tal ...

found support in the words "ascribe greatness to our God" in Deuteronomy 32:3 for the proposition that when standing in the house of assembly saying, "Blessed is the Lord who is to be blessed," people are to respond, "Blessed is the Lord who is to be blessed forever and ever." Rabbi Jose also found support in those words for the proposition that Grace after Meals is said only when three are present; that one must say "

Amen Amen (, ; , ; , ; , ) is an Abrahamic declaration of affirmation which is first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently found in the New Testament. It is used in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic practices as a concluding word, or as a respons ...

" after the one who says the blessing; that one must say, "Blessed is the Name of the Glory of His Kingdom forever and ever"; and that when people say, "May His great name be blessed," one must answer, "Forever and ever and ever." Similarly, the Talmud reports that a Baraita taught that Rabbi

Judah the Prince Judah ha-Nasi (, ''Yəhūḏā hanNāsīʾ‎''; Yehudah HaNasi or Judah the Prince or Judah the President) or Judah I, known simply as Rebbi or Rabbi, was a second-century rabbi (a tanna of the fifth generation) and chief redactor and editor o ...

read Deuteronomy 32:3, "When I proclaim the name of the Lord, ascribe greatness to our God," to teach that Moses told the Jewish people: "When I mention the name of God, you give God glory and recite praises in God’s honor." God2-Sistine Chapel

Reading words of Deuteronomy 32:4, "The rock (, ''ha-tzur''), perfect is His work," the Sifre noted that the word "The rock" (, ''ha-tzur'') is similar to the word for "the artist" (, ''ha-tzayar''), for God designed the world and formed humanity in it, as Genesis 2:7 says, "the Lord God formed the man." And the Sifre read the words of Deuteronomy 32:4, "a faithful God," to teach that God believed in the world and created it. Citing the words of Deuteronomy 32:4, "The Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are judgment," Rabbi Ḥanina taught that those who say that God is lax in the execution of justice shall have their lives disregarded. The Gemara tells that when Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradion, his wife, and his daughter left a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

tribunal that sentenced him and his wife to death for studying the Torah, they declared their submission to God's judgment by quoting Deuteronomy 32:4. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradion quoted Deuteronomy 32:4 to say, "The Rock, His work is perfect; for all his ways are justice." His wife continued quoting Deuteronomy 32:4 to say, "A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and right is He." And his daughter quoted Jeremiah 32:19: "Great in counsel and mighty in work, whose eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doing." Judah the Prince remarked on how great these righteous ones were, for three Scriptural passages expressing submission to Divine justice readily occurred to them just in time for their declaration of faith. Gustav Jaeger Bileam Engel

A Midrash read Deuteronomy 32:4 to help understand the non-Jewish prophet

Balaam Balaam (;; ; ), son of Beor, was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a non-Israelite prophet and diviner who lived in Pethor, a place identified with the ancient city of Pitru, thought to have been located between the region of Iraq and norther ...

. The Midrash explained that the Torah records Balaam's story to make known that because the nonbeliever prophet Balaam did what he did, God removed prophecy and the Holy Spirit from nonbelievers. The Midrash taught that God originally wished to deprive nonbelievers of the opportunity to argue that God had estranged them. So in an application of the principle of Deuteronomy 32:4, "The Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are Justice," God raised up kings, sages, and prophets for both Israel and nonbelievers alike. Just as God raised up Moses for Israel, God raised up Balaam for the nonbelievers. But whereas the prophets of Israel cautioned Israel against transgressions, as in Ezekiel 3:17, Balaam sought to breach the moral order by encouraging the sin of Baal-Peor in Numbers 25:1–13. And while the prophets of Israel retained compassion towards both Israel and nonbelievers alike, as reflected in Jeremiah 48:36 and Ezekiel 27:2, Balaam sought to uproot the whole nation of Israel for no crime. Thus God removed prophecy from nonbelievers. Elijah Taken Up in a Chariot of Fire E11219

Elijah Taken Up in a Chariot of Fire E11219

Rabbi Ḥanina bar Papa taught that to enjoy this world without reciting a

blessing In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with doctrines of grace, grace, Sacred, holiness, spiritual Redemption (theology), redemption, or Will of God, divine will. Etymology and Germani ...

is tantamount to robbing God, as Proverbs 28:24 says, "Whoever robs his father or his mother and says, 'It is no transgression,' is the companion of a destroyer," and Deuteronomy 32:6 says of God, "Is not He your father Who has gotten you?" The Sifre read the words of Deuteronomy 32:7, "Ask your father and he will tell you," to refer to the prophets, as 2 Kings 2:12 says, "And

Elisha Elisha was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a Jewish prophet and a wonder-worker. His name is commonly transliterated into English as Elisha via Hebrew, Eliseus via Greek and Latin, Ełishe (Yeghishe/Elisha) via Armenian or Alyasa via Arabic, a ...

saw lijah the prophetand cried 'My father! My father!'" Confusion of Tongues

Rabbi

Simeon Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical Hebrew, Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated in English as Shimon. In Greek, it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Sy ...

taught that Deuteronomy 32:8, "When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance," describes events that took place when God confused the languages of humankind at the

Tower of Babel The Tower of Babel is an origin myth and parable in the Book of Genesis (chapter 11) meant to explain the existence of different languages and cultures. According to the story, a united human race speaking a single language migrates to Shin ...

. Rabbi Simeon told that God called to the 70

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

s who surround the

throne of God The throne of God is the reigning centre of God in the Abrahamic religions: primarily Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The throne is said by various holy books to reside beyond the Seventh Heaven which is called ''Araboth'' ( ''‘ărāḇōṯ ...

's glory and said, "Let us descend and let us confuse the 70 nations (that made up the world) and the 70 languages." Rabbi Simeon deduced this from

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

11:7, where God said, "Let ''us'' go down," not "''I'' will go down." Rabbi Simeon taught that Deuteronomy 32:8 reports that they cast lots among them. God's lot fell upon

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

and his descendants, as Deuteronomy 32:9 reports, "For the Lord's portion is his people;

Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

is the lot of his inheritance." God said that God's soul lives by the portion and lot that fell to God, as Psalm 16:6 says, "The lots have fallen to me in pleasures; yea, I have a goodly heritage." God then descended with the 70 angels who surround the throne of God's glory and they confused the speech of humankind into 70 nations and 70 languages. Bruno Liljefors - Sea Eagles Nest

The Sifre expanded on the metaphor of God as an eagle in Deuteronomy 32:11, teaching that just as an eagle enters her nest only after shaking her chicks with her wings, fluttering from tree to tree to wake them up, so that they will have the strength to receive her, so when God revealed God's self to give the Torah to Israel, God did not appear from just a single direction, but from all four directions, as Deuteronomy 33:2 says, "The Lord came from Sinai, and rose from Seir to them," and Habakkuk 3:3 says, "God comes from the south." The Gemara read the word "Rock" in Deuteronomy 32:18 to refer to God, and the Gemara employed that interpretation with others to support Abba Benjamin's assertion that when two people enter a

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

to pray, and one of them finishes first and leaves without waiting for the other, God disregards the prayer of the one who left. Rabbi Judah ben Simon expounded on God's words in Deuteronomy 32:20, "I will hide My face from them." Rabbi Judah ben Simon compared Israel to a king's son who went into the marketplace and struck people but was not struck in return (because of his being the king's son). He insulted but was not insulted. He went up to his father arrogantly. But the father asked the son whether he thought that he was respected on his own account, when the son was respected only on account of the respect that was due to the father. So the father renounced the son, and as a result, no one took any notice of him. So when Israel went out of Egypt, the fear of them fell upon all the nations, as Exodus 15:14–16 reported, "The peoples have heard, they tremble; pangs have taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia. Then were the chiefs of Edom frightened; the mighty men of Moab, trembling takes hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away. Terror and dread falls upon them." But when Israel transgressed and sinned, God asked Israel whether it thought that it was respected on its own account, when it was respected only on account of the respect that was due to God. So God turned away from them a little, and the

Amalek Amalek (; ) is described in the Hebrew Bible as the enemy of the nation of the Israelites. The name "Amalek" can refer to the descendants of Amalek, the grandson of Esau, or anyone who lived in their territories in Canaan, or North African descend ...

ites came and attacked Israel, as Exodus 17:8 reports, "Then Amalek came, and fought with Israel in Rephidim," and then the

Canaanites {{Cat main, Canaan See also: * :Ancient Israel and Judah Ancient Levant Hebrew Bible nations Ancient Lebanon 0050 Ancient Syria Wikipedia categories named after regions 0050 0050 Phoenicia Amarna Age civilizations ...

came and fought with Israel, as Numbers 21:1 reports, "And the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who dwelt in the South, heard tell that Israel came by the way of Atharim; and he fought against Israel." God told the Israelites that they had no genuine faith, as Deuteronomy 32:20 says, "they are a very disobedient generation, children in whom is no faith." God concluded that the Israelites were rebellious, but to destroy them was impossible, to take them back to Egypt was impossible, and God could not change them for another people. So God concluded to chastise and try them with suffering. Rabbi Jacob taught in

Rabbi Aha Rabbi Aha (, read as ''Rabbi Achah'') was a rabbi of the Land of Israel, of the fourth century (fourth generation of amoraim). Biography He resided at Lod, but later settled in Tiberias where Huna II, Judah ben Pazi, and himself eventually cons ...

's name (or others say in the Rabbi Abin's name) that no hour is as grievous as that in which God hides God's face (as foretold in Deuteronomy 31:17–18 and 32:20). Rabbi Jacob taught that since that hour, he had hoped for God, for God said in Deuteronomy 31:21, "For it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed." Shapurii

Rav Bardela bar Tabyumi taught in Rav's name that to whomever "hiding of the face" and . does not apply is not one of the Children of Israel, and to whomever "they shall be devoured" does not apply is also not one of them. The Rabbis confronted Rava, saying "hiding of the face" and "they shall be devoured" did not apply to Rava. Rava asked the Rabbis whether they knew how much he was forced to send secretly to the Court of King

Shapur Shahpur, Shapur, Shahpoor, or Shahapur () may refer to: People * Shapur (name), Persian given name and a list of people with the name Places India Bihar * Shahpur, Bihar, a city in Bhojpur district ** Shahpur, Bihar Assembly constitue ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. Even so, the Rabbis directed their eyes upon Rava in suspicion. Meanwhile, the Court of King Shapur sent men who seized Rava's property. Rava then said that this bore out what Rabban

Simeon ben Gamliel Simeon ben Gamliel (I) ( or רשב"ג הראשון; c. 10 BCE – 70 CE) was a '' Tanna'' (sage) and leader of the Jewish people. He served as nasi of the Great Sanhedrin at Jerusalem during the outbreak of the First Jewish–Roman War, succ ...

taught, that wherever the Rabbis direct their eyes in suspicion, either death or poverty follows. Interpreting "I will hide My face," Rava taught that God said although God would hide God's face from them, God would nonetheless speak to them in a dream. Rav Joseph taught that God's hand is nonetheless stretched over us to protect us, as Isaiah 51:16 says, "And I have covered you in the shadow of My hand." Rabbi Joshua ben Hanania was once at the Roman emperor

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

's court, when an unbeliever gestured to Rabbi Joshua in sign language that the Jewish people was a people from whom their God had turned His face. Rabbi Joshua ben Hanania gestured in reply that God's hand was stretched over the Jewish people. Emperor Hadrian asked Rabbi Joshua what unbeliever had said. Rabbi Joshua told the emperor what unbeliever had said and what Rabbi Joshua had replied. They then asked the unbeliever what he had said, and he told them. And then they asked what Rabbi Joshua had replied, and the unbeliever did not know. They decreed that a man who does not understand what he is being shown by gesture should hold converse in signs before the emperor, and they led him forth and executed him for his disrespect to the emperor. A Midrash taught that Deuteronomy 32:20, "For they are a very contrary (''tahpukot'') generation," applied to the spies. The Midrash contrasted Numbers 13:2, "Send you ''men''," with Proverbs 26:6, "He that sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet, and drinks damage." The Midrash asked whether the spies were men or fools. The Midrash noted that Numbers 13:2 says, "Send you ''men''," and wherever Scripture uses the word "men," Scripture implies righteous people, as in Exodus 17:9, "And Moses said to Joshua: 'Choose us out ''men"; in 1 Samuel 17:12, "And the man was an old man (and thus wise) in the days of Saul, coming among ''men'' (who would naturally be like him)"; and in 1 Samuel 1:11, "But will give to Your handmaid seed who are ''men''." If Numbers 13:2 thus implies that the spies were righteous people, could they still have been fools? The Midrash explained that they were fools because they spread an evil report about the land, and Proverbs 10:18 says, "He that utters a slander is a fool." The Midrash reconciled the two characterizations by telling that the spies were great men who then made fools of themselves. It was concerning them that Moses said in Deuteronomy 32:20, "They are a very contrary generation, children in whom is no faithfulness." For the Midrash taught that the spies had been chosen out of all Israel by the command of both God and Moses; as Moses said in Deuteronomy 1:23, "And the thing pleased me well; and I took twelve men of you," implying that they were righteous in the opinion of both Israel and in Moses. Yet Moses did not want to send them on his own responsibility, so he consulted God about everyone, mentioning the name and tribe of each, and God told Moses that each was worthy. The Midrash explained that one can infer that God told Moses that they were worthy, because Numbers 13:3 reports, "And Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran ''according to the commandment of the Lord''." Afterwards, at the end of 40 days, they changed and made all the trouble, causing that generation to be punished; thus Deuteronomy 32:20 says, "For they are a very contrary (''tahpukot'') generation," since when they were selected, they were righteous and then they changed (''nitapeku''). Accordingly, Numbers 13:2 says, "Send you ''men''," and afterwards Numbers 13:16 says, "These are the names of the ''men''." Reading Deuteronomy 32:20, "children in whom is no faithfulness,"

Rabbi Meir Rabbi Meir () was a Jewish sage who lived in the time of the Mishnah. He was one of the Tannaim of the fourth generation (139–163), and a disciple of Rabbi Akiva. He is the second most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah and is mentioned ...

noted that even when people are faithless, God still considers them God’s children. The Gemara read the word , ''reshef'' ("fiery bolt") in Deuteronomy 32:24 to refer to

s, and the Gemara employed that interpretation with others to support Rabbi Isaac's assertion that reciting the

Shema ''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; , “Hear, O Israel”) is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services. Its first verse encapsulates the monothe ...

in bed keeps demons away. Rabbi

Shimon ben Lakish Shimon ben Lakish (; ''Shim‘on bar Lakish'' or ''bar Lakisha''), better known by his nickname Reish Lakish (c. 200 — c. 275), was an amora who lived in the Roman province of Judaea in the third century. He was said to be born in Bosra, eas ...

reasoned from Deuteronomy 32:24 that Torah study keeps away painful sufferings. For

Job Work, labor (labour in Commonwealth English), occupation or job is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs and desires of themselves, other people, or organizations. In the context of economics, work can be seen as the huma ...

5:7 says, "And the sons of , ''reshef'', fly upward (, ''uf'')." He argued that the word , ''uf'', refers only to the Torah, as Proverbs 23:5 says, "Will you close (, ''hataif'') your eyes to it (the Torah)? It is gone." And , ''reshef'', refers only to painful sufferings, as Deuteronomy 32:24 says, "The wasting of hunger, and the devouring of the fiery bolt (, ''reshef''). Rabbi Joḥanan said to Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish that even school children know that the Torah protects against painful disease. For Exodus 15:26 says, "And He said: 'If you will diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord your God, and will do that which is right in His eyes, and will give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases upon you that I have put upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord Who heals you." Rather one should say that God visits those who can study the Torah and do not do so with ugly and painful sufferings which stir them up. For Psalm 39:3 says, "I was dumb with silence, I kept silence from the good thing, and my pain was stirred up." "The good thing" refers only to the Torah, as Proverbs 4:2 says, "For I give you good doctrine; forsake not My teaching." Rav Hisda taught that one walking in a dirty alleyway should not recite the Shema, and one reciting the Shema who comes upon a dirty alleyway should stop reciting. Of one who would not stop reciting, Rav

Adda bar Ahavah Adda bar Ahavah or Adda bar Ahabah (רב אדא בר אהבה) is the name of two Jewish rabbis and Talmudic scholars, known as Amoraim, who lived in Lower Mesopotamia, a region known in Jewish texts as "Babylonia". The amora of the second gene ...

quoted Numbers 15:31 to say: "he has despised the word of the Lord." And of one who does stop reciting, Rabbi Abbahu taught that Deuteronomy 32:47 says: "through this word you shall prolong your days." Rabbi Joḥanan counted ten instances in which Scripture refers to the death of Moses (including one in the parashah), teaching that God did not finally seal the harsh decree until God declared it to Moses. Rabbi Joḥanan cited these ten references to the death of Moses: (1) Deuteronomy 4:22: "But I must die in this land; I shall not cross the Jordan"; (2) Deuteronomy 31:14: "The Lord said to Moses: 'Behold, your days approach that you must die'"; (3) Deuteronomy 31:27: " en now, while I am still alive in your midst, you have been defiant toward the Lord; and how much more after my death"; (4) Deuteronomy 31:29: "For I know that after my death, you will act wickedly and turn away from the path that I enjoined upon you"; (5) Deuteronomy 32:50: "And die in the mount that you are about to ascend, and shall be gathered to your kin, as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his kin"; (6) Deuteronomy 33:1: "This is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, bade the Israelites farewell before his death"; (7) Deuteronomy 34:5: "So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, at the command of the Lord"; (8) Deuteronomy 34:7: "Moses was 120 years old when he died"; (9) Joshua 1:1: "Now it came to pass after the death of Moses"; and (10) Joshua 1:2: "Moses My servant is dead." Rabbi Joḥanan taught that ten times it was decreed that Moses should not enter the Land of Israel, but the harsh decree was not finally sealed until God revealed it to him and declared (as reported in Deuteronomy 3:27): "It is My decree that you should not pass over." The Sifre taught that God told Moses in Deuteronomy 32:50 that Moses would die "as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people," because when Moses saw the merciful manner of Aaron's death, as reported in Numbers 20:23–28, Moses concluded that he would want to die the same way. The Sifre taught that God told Aaron to go in a cave, to climb onto a bier, to spread his hands, to spread his legs, to close his mouth, and to close his eyes, and then Aaron died. And at that moment, Moses concluded that one would be happy to die that way. The Gemara implied that the sin of Moses in striking the rock at

Meribah Massah () and Meribah (, also spelled "Mirabah") are place names found in the Hebrew Bible. The Israelites are said to have travelled through Massah and Meribah during the Exodus, although the continuous list of visited stations in Numbers 33 ...

compared favorably to the sin of David. The Gemara reported that Moses and David were two good leaders of Israel. Moses begged God that his sin be recorded, as it is in Numbers 20:12, 20:23–24, and 27:13–14, and Deuteronomy 32:51. David, however, begged that his sin be blotted out, as Psalm 32:1 says, "Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is pardoned." The Gemara compared the cases of Moses and David to the cases of two women whom the court sentenced to be lashed. One had committed an indecent act, while the other had eaten unripe figs of the seventh year in violation of Leviticus 25:6. The woman who had eaten unripe figs begged the court to make known for what offense she was being flogged, lest people say that she was being punished for the same sin as the other woman. The court thus made known her sin, and the Torah repeatedly records the sin of Moses.

In medieval Jewish interpretation

The parashah is discussed in these

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Jewish sources:

Saadiah Gaon Saʿadia ben Yosef Gaon (892–942) was a prominent rabbi, gaon, Jewish philosopher, and exegete who was active in the Abbasid Caliphate. Saadia is the first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Judeo-Arabic. Known for his works ...

interpreted heaven and earth in Deuteronomy 32:1 to mean the angels and the people of the earth. Rashi woodcut cropped

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

explained that Moses called upon heaven and earth to serve as witnesses in Deuteronomy 32:1 in case Israel denied accepting the covenant, because Moses knew that he was mortal and would soon die, but heaven and earth will endure forever. Furthermore, said Rashi, if Israel acted meritoriously, then the witnesses would be able to reward them, as the earth would yield its produce and the heavens would give its dew. Zechariah 8:12.) And if Israel acted sinfully, then the hand of the witnesses would be the first to inflict punishment (carrying out the injunction of Deuteronomy 17:7), as God would close off heaven's rain, and the soil would not yield its produce. Rashi interpreted Deuteronomy 32:2 to refer to Torah, which, like rain, provides life to the world. Rashi interpreted the request of Moses in Deuteronomy 32:2 for his speech to rain down "as the dew," "as the rain," to mean that it should come in small droplets. Rashi interpreted that Moses wanted to teach the children of Israel slowly, the knowledge "raining" down on the people in small portions, for if they were to be subject to all knowledge coming down at once, they would be overwhelmed and thus wiped out. Reading the description of God by Moses in Deuteronomy 32:4, "The Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice," Baḥya ibn Paquda argued we can see that God possesses these attributes from the evidence of God's deeds towards God's creations and from the wisdom and power that God's deeds reflect. But Baḥya cautioned that one must be careful not to take descriptions of God's attributes literally or in a physical sense. Rather, one must know that they are metaphors, geared to what we are capable of grasping with our powers of understanding, because of our urgent need to know God. But God is infinitely greater and loftier than all of these attributes. Baḥya also read the words of Deuteronomy 32:4 to provide comfort when one questions why some righteous people do not receive their livelihood except after hard and strenuous toil, while many transgressors are at ease, living a good, pleasant life. For each specific case has its own particular reason, known only to God. Baḥya ibn Paquda read Deuteronomy 32:6 to teach that even though students must first learn Tradition, they should not rely solely on Tradition if they are able to attain comprehension through reason. He therefore deduced that all who are capable are obligated to investigate with their intellect and to bring logical proofs of the Tradition by the demonstration that careful judgment would support. Baḥya also argued that the words of Deuteronomy 32:6, "Do you thus repay the Lord, O foolish and unwise people?" apply to those who fail to reflect upon the obligation of the service of God. Baḥya ibn Paquda read the words of Deuteronomy 32:6, "Is He not your Father who has acquired you? He has made you and established you?" to teach that God alone guides a person from the beginning of a person's existence and development. Baḥya cited this trait, in turn, as one of seven key factors that make it possible for one to trust in another. Baḥya ibn Paquda read the words of Deuteronomy 32:15, "But Yeshurun grew fat, and kicked: you are grown fat, you are grown thick, you are covered with fatness; then he forsook God who made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation," to support the proposition that if people were not forced to exert themselves in seeking a livelihood, they would kick, become defiant, and chase after sin, and they would ignore their debt of gratitude to God for God's goodness to them. Maimonides-2

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

taught that Scripture employs the idea of God's hiding God's face (as in Deuteronomy 32:20) to designate the manifestation of a certain work of God. Thus, Moses the prophet foretold misfortune by saying (in God's words in Deuteronomy 31:17), "And I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured." For, Maimonides interpreted, when people are deprived of Divine protection, they are exposed to all dangers, and become the victim of circumstance, their fortune dependent on chance—a terrible threat. Further, Maimonides taught that the hiding of God's face results from human choice. When people do not meditate on God, they are separated from God, and they are then exposed to any evil that might befall them. For, Maimonides taught, the intellectual link with God secures the presence of Providence and protection from evil accidents. Maimonides argued that this principle applies equally to an individual person and a whole community.

In modern interpretation

The parashah is discussed in these modern sources: G. Ernest Wright identified the genre of the poem in Deuteronomy 32:1–47 as a "covenant lawsuit" with the following components: Daniel Block, however, argued that the legal features of the song are "quite muted, taking second place to liturgical features." Block imagined the song as an anthem, recited

antiphonally An antiphon (Greek ἀντίφωνον, ἀντί "opposite" and φωνή "voice") is a short chant in Christian ritual, sung as a refrain. The texts of antiphons are usually taken from the Psalms or Scripture, but may also be freely composed. T ...

as follows in liturgy associated with the annual reading of the Torah at Sukkot. Harold Fisch described the witness function of the song as "a kind of time bomb; it awaits its hour and then springs forward into harsh remembrance." Fisch argued that the words of Deuteronomy 32:2, "My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew; as the small rain upon the tender grass, and as the showers upon the herb", were echoed in the words

Portia Portia may refer to: Biology * ''Portia'' (spider), a genus of jumping spiders *Portia tree, a plant native to Polynesia *''Anaea troglodyta'' or Portia, a brush-footed butterfly Other uses *Portia (given name), the history and usage of the give ...

said to

Shylock Shylock () is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's play '' The Merchant of Venice'' ( 1600). A Venetian Jewish moneylender, Shylock is the play's principal villain. His defeat and forced conversion to Christianity form the climax ...

in , of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's play ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

'', "The quality of mercy is not strained. / It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven / Upon the place beneath." A modern Midrash interpreted the report of Deuteronomy 32:8 that God "fixed the boundaries of peoples in relation to Israel's number" (, ''l'mispar b'nei Yisrael'') to teach that before the days of Abraham, God dealt harshly with the world: The sins of

Noah Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...

's generation resulted in the flood; the generation that built the Tower of Babel was dispersed throughout the globe, prompting the proliferation of languages; the sins of

were answered with fire and brimstone. According to the Midrash, when Abraham came into the world, God ceased the cataclysmic punishments and set the punishments of other peoples in relationship to Israel's presence in the world. This Midrash conveys that the Israelites' presence somehow lessened God's anger, bringing greater stability to the world. The Midrash teaches that Jews, then, have a unique ability and responsibility to bring peace and stability to the world. Neḥama Leibowitz noted that Deuteronomy 32:27 contains a "very daring anthropomorphism indeed, attributing to God the sentiment of fear." Modern document hypothesis

In critical analysis

Some scholars who follow the

Documentary Hypothesis The documentary hypothesis (DH) is one of the models used by biblical scholars to explain the origins and composition of the Torah (or Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible: Book of Genesis, Genesis, Book of Exodus, Exodus, Leviticus, Bo ...

find evidence of three separate sources in the parashah. Thus, some scholars consider the final counsel of Moses in Deuteronomy 32:45–47 to have been composed by the first Deuteronomistic historian (sometimes abbreviated Dtr 1) who wrote in the time of King

Josiah Josiah () or Yoshiyahu was the 16th king of Judah (–609 BCE). According to the Hebrew Bible, he instituted major religious reforms by removing official worship of gods other than Yahweh. Until the 1990s, the biblical description of Josiah’s ...

of Judah, circa 622 BCE. Some scholars attribute the bulk of the parashah, Deuteronomy 32:1–44 to an insertion by the second Deuteronomistic historian (sometimes abbreviated Dtr 2) who wrote in the

Babylonian captivity The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The deportations occurred ...

after 587 BCE. And then these scholars attribute the conclusion of the parashah, Deuteronomy 32:48–52 to a later Redactor (sometimes abbreviated R) who folded the Deuteronomic report into the context established at the end of the book of Numbers. For a color-coded display of verses according to this hypothesis, see the display of Deuteronomy according to the Documentary Hypothesis at

Wikiversity Wikiversity is a Wikimedia Foundation project that supports learning communities, their learning materials, and resulting activities. It differs from Wikipedia in that it offers tutorials and other materials for the fostering of learning, rather ...

. In the Masoretic Text and the

Samaritan Pentateuch The Samaritan Pentateuch, also called the Samaritan Torah (Samaritan Hebrew: , ), is the Religious text, sacred scripture of the Samaritans. Written in the Samaritan script, it dates back to one of the ancient versions of the Torah that existe ...

, Deuteronomy 32:8 reports how God set the borders of the peoples according to the number of "the children of ''Israel''." In a Qumran scroll (4QDeut^j) and the

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

, however, it is the number of "the children of ''God''," whom Martin Abegg Jr., Peter Flint, and Eugene Ulrich suggested may mean the divine beings who would serve as protectors for the various nations. Professor

Robert Alter Robert Bernard Alter (born 1935) is an American professor emeritus of Hebrew language, Hebrew and comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has published two dozen books, including an aw ...

argued that this phrase appears to reflect a very early stage in the evolution of biblical monotheism. Alter suggested that it caused later transmitters of the text theological discomfort and probably provoked these transmitters deliberately to change it in the interests of piety. In Alter's interpretation of the older world-picture, a celestial entourage of subordinate divine beings or lesser deities surrounded the supreme God. In Alter's reading, the original Deuteronomy 32:8 assumed that God, in allotting portions of the earth to the various peoples, also allowed each people its own lesser deity. Similarly, in the Masoretic Text and the Samaritan Pentateuch, Deuteronomy 32:43 says, "Sing aloud, O you ''nations'', of His people; for He avenges the blood of His ''servants'', and renders vengeance to His adversaries, and makes expiation for the land of His people." But in another Qumran scroll (4QDeut^q, supported by the Septuagint), Deuteronomy 32:43 says, "Rejoice, O ''heavens'', together with Him; ''and bow down to Him all you gods'', for He will avenge the blood of His ''sons'', and will render vengeance to His enemies, ''and will recompense those who hate Him'', and will atone for the land of His people." Jeffrey Tigay suggested that scribes responsible for transmitting the text may have been concerned that readers not envision supernatural beings with power that would encourage the readers to worship these beings along with God.

In Samaritan interpretation

Samaritans Samaritans (; ; ; ), are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Hebrews and Israelites of the ancient Near East. They are indigenous to Samaria, a historical region of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah that ...

accept only the Torah as prophetic and reject the rest of the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

resurrection of the dead General resurrection or universal resurrection is the belief in a resurrection of the dead, or resurrection from the dead ( Koine: , ''anastasis onnekron''; literally: "standing up again of the dead") by which most or all people who have died ...

(''ḥayyei ha-metim'') entirely on Parashat Haazinu. In the Samaritan Pentateuch, the phrase "I kill and I make alive" in Deuteronomy 32:39 is pronounced ''Ani amit wa'aḥayei'' meaning "I kill and I return life," which is interpreted as "I will give life to the dead" or ''aḥayei et ha-met''.Yesaahq ben 'Aamraam. ''Samaritan Exegesis: A Compilation of Writings from the Samaritans''. 2013. Deuteronomy 32:43, "and He will expiate His land and His people," or in Samaritan Hebrew ''wa'kiper admato amo'', has led Samaritans to interpret the phrase ''amit wa'aḥayei'' in Deuteronomy 32:39 to mean that only the righteous of the people of Israel will experience the resurrection and have a place in the World To Come (''

Olam Haba Jewish eschatology is the area of Jewish theology concerned with events that will happen in the end of days and related concepts. This includes the ingathering of the exiled diaspora, the coming of the Jewish Messiah, the afterlife, and the r ...

''). Samaritans consider themselves and Jews collectively to be the people of Israel, so they believe that Jews will experience resurrection of the dead just as Samaritans will. Samaritans see this as motivation for non-Samaritans and non-Jews (gentiles) to convert and join the people of Israel if they want to have a place in the World To Come.

Commandments

Maimonides cites the parashah for one negative

commandment Commandment may refer to: * The Ten Commandments * One of the 613 mitzvot of Judaism * The Great Commandment * The New Commandment * Commandment (album), ''Commandment'' (album), a 2007 album by Six Feet Under * Commandments (film), ''Commandments' ...

: *Not to drink wine of libation to idolatry According to ''

Sefer ha-Chinuch ''Sefer ha-Chinuch'' (, "Book of Education") is a rabbinic text which systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the Torah. It was written in 13th-century Spain by an anonymous "Levite of Barcelona". Content The work's enumeration of th ...

'', however, there are no commandments in the parashah. And according to others, the parashah contains a commandment to listen, hear, and learn one's ancestral history, as Deuteronomy 32:7–9 instructs one to "ask your father and he will tell you."

In the liturgy

At the formal beginning of the K'riat Sh'ma prayer service, the leader recites the ''Barchu'', "Praise Adonai, the Exalted One." The Sifre to Deuteronomy connects this practice to Deuteronomy 32:3, where Moses says, "I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God." In Deuteronomy 32:4, 15, 18, 30, and 31, Moses referred to God as "Rock" (, ''Tzur''). The Jewish

prayer book A prayer book is a book containing prayers and perhaps devotional readings, for private or communal use, or in some cases, outlining the liturgy of religious services. Books containing mainly orders of religious services, or readings for them are ...

(, ''

siddur A siddur ( ''sīddūr'', ; plural siddurim ) is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word comes from the Hebrew root , meaning 'order.' Other terms for prayer books are ''tefillot'' () among Sephardi Jews, ''tef ...

'') echoes this Name for God in many places—in the hymn

Adon Olam Adon Olam (; "Eternal Lord" or "Sovereign of the Universe") is a hymn in the Jewish liturgy. It has been a regular part of the daily and Shabbat ( Sabbath) liturgy since the 15th century.Nulman, Macy, ''Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer'' (1993, NJ ...

, which Jews often sing in the morning (, ''

Shacharit ''Shacharit'' ( ''šaḥăriṯ''), or ''Shacharis'' in Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning '' tefillah'' (prayer) of Judaism, one of the three daily prayers. Different traditions identify different primary components of ''Shacharit''. E ...

'') prayer service; in one of the first blessings of the ''

'' (), "He gives light to the Earth" (, ''ha-meir laaretz'') on weekdays or "All will thank you" (, ''ha-kol yoducha'') on Sabbaths, which Jews recite as part of the morning (, ''Shacharit'') prayer service; in a following blessing of the ''Shema'', "May You be blessed" (, ''Titbarach''); twice in another blessing of the ''Shema'' following the ''Shema'', "True and firm" (, ''Emet veYatziv''); in the blessing of the ''Shema'' following that, "So they were for our ancestors" (, ''Al haRishonim''); in the concluding words before the

Amidah The ''Amidah'' (, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' during each of the three services prayed on week ...

, "Rock of Israel" (, ''Tzur Yisraeil''); in the Thanksgiving (, ''Modim'') prayer, which Jews recite as part of the Standing Prayer (, ''Amidah'') that forms the central prayer of the morning (, ''Shacharit''), additional (, ''

Mussaf Mussaf (also spelled Musaf or Musof) is an additional service that is recited on Shabbat, Yom Tov, Chol Hamoed, and Rosh Chodesh. The service, which is traditionally combined with the Shacharit in synagogues, is considered to be additional to t ...

''), afternoon (, ''

Mincha Mincha (, ; sometimes spelled Minchah, Minhah, Mincho or Minchuh) is the afternoon prayer service in Judaism. Etymology The name ''Mincha'', meaning "gift" or "offering", is derived from the meal offering that accompanied each sacrifice offered ...

''), and evening (, ''

Maariv ''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'', or ''Arbit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or at night. It consists primarily of the evening '' Shema'' and ''Amidah''. The service will often begin with two ...

''), prayer services; in the concluding prayer of the Standing Prayer (, ''Amidah''), "My God, guard my tongue from evil," in each of those services; three times in the Supplication (, ''

Tachanun ''Tachanun'' or ''Taḥanun'' ( "Supplication"), also called ''nefilat apayim'' ( "falling on the face"), is part of Judaism's morning (''Shacharit'') and afternoon (''Mincha'') prayer services; it follows the recitation of the ''Amidah'', the ce ...

'') or bowing of the head after the weekday Standing Prayer (, ''Amidah''); in Psalm 94:22, which Jews recite as the Psalm of the day on Wednesdays; in Psalm 92:16, which Jews recite as the Psalm of the day on the Sabbath; in Psalm 95:1, which Jews recite as the opening of the ''Kabbalat Shabbat'' (receiving or greeting the Sabbath) prayer service; in Psalm 92:16, which Jews recite after singing ''

Lekhah Dodi Lekha Dodi () is a Hebrew-language Jewish liturgical song recited Friday at dusk, usually at sundown, in synagogue to welcome the Sabbath prior to the evening services. It is part of Kabbalat Shabbat. The refrain of ''Lekha Dodi'' means "Let ...

'' in the ''Kabbalat Shabbat'' prayer service, and again as part of the hymnal verses (, ''

Pesukei d'Zimrah ''Pesukei dezimra'' (; Rabbinic Hebrew: ''pasuqẽ hazzǝmiroṯ'' "Verses of songs"), or ''zemirot'' as they are called by the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, are a group of prayers that may be recited during Shacharit (the morning set of prayers i ...

'') that begin the Sabbath morning (, ''Shacharit'') prayer service; seven times in the Sabbath-eve song (, ''

zemer Zemer (, ) is an Arab local council in the Central District of Israel. It is located in the Arab Triangle area, between Baqa al-Gharbiyye and Bat Hefer on Road 574. Zemer is the result of a merger of four villages – Bir al-Sika, Ibtan, Marj ...

'') The Rock from Whom We Have Eaten (, ''Tzur Mishelo Achalnu''); in Psalm 19:15, which Jews recite as part of the hymnal verses (, ''Pesukei d'Zimrah'') that begin the Sabbath morning (, ''Shacharit'') prayer service; and in the blessing after reading the Haftarah. Many Jews recite the words, "as an eagle that stirs up her nest, hovers over her young," from Deuteronomy 32:11 as part of the declaration of intent before donning the

tallit A tallit, taleth, or tallis is a fringed garment worn as a prayer shawl by religious Jews. The tallit has special twined and knotted fringe (trim), fringes known as ''tzitzit'' attached to its four corners. The cloth part is known as the ''beged ...

Haftarah

Generally

The

haftarah The ''haftara'' or (in Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazic pronunciation) ''haftorah'' (alt. ''haftarah, haphtara'', ) "parting," "taking leave" (plural form: ''haftarot'' or ''haftoros''), is a series of selections from the books of ''Nevi'im'' ("Pr ...

for the parashah is the song of David,

22:1–51 (which is nearly identical to Psalm 18). Both the parashah and the haftarah set out the song of a great leader. Both the parashah (in Deuteronomy 32:4, 15, 18, 30, and 31) and the haftarah (in 2 Samuel 22:2, 3, 32, and 47) refer to God as a "Rock." Both the parashah (in Deuteronomy 32:4) and the haftarah (in 2 Samuel 22:24, 26, and 33) use the Hebrew word , ''tamim'', to refer to God or David as "perfect," "blameless," or "secure."See

Michael Fishbane Michael A. Fishbane (born 1943) is an American scholar of Judaism and rabbinic literature. Formerly at Brandeis University, he is currently Professor Emeritus of Jewish Studies at the Divinity School, University of Chicago. Fishbane (Ph.D., Bran ...

. ''The JPS Bible Commentary: Haftarot'', pages 323–24. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2002. Both the parashah (in Deuteronomy 32:5) and the haftarah (in 2 Samuel 22:27) use rare words to refer to the "perverse" (, ''ikeish'') and "wily" (, ''petaltol''; , ''titapal'').See Lainie Blum Cogan and Judy Weiss. ''Teaching Haftarah: Background, Insights, and Strategies'', page 95. Both the parashah (in Deuteronomy 32:15–21) and the haftarah (in 2 Samuel 22:26–28) teach that Providence repays human actions in kind. Both the parashah (in Deuteronomy 32:23–26 and 41–43) and the haftarah (in 2 Samuel 22:14–16) describe God in martial terms, shooting arrows (, ''chitzai''; , ''chitzim'') (Deuteronomy 32:23, 42; 2 Samuel 22:15) and punishing enemies (, ''oyeiv'') (Deuteronomy 32:27, 42; 2 Samuel 22:4, 18, 38, 41, 49).

On Shabbat Shuva

When Parashat Haazinu coincides with the special Sabbath Shabbat Shuvah (the Sabbath before

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October. For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...

, as it does in 2023, 2024, and 2026), the haftarah is Hosea 14:2–10, Micah 7:18–20, and Joel 2:15–27.

Notes

, Land of Israel, circa 400 CE. In, e.g., ''Talmud Yerushalmi''. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, volumes 2–3, 5–6a, 10, 13, 17, 24, 25–27, 31–32, 36, 40, 44–47. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2006–2020. And in, e.g., ''The Jerusalem Talmud: A Translation and Commentary''. Edited by Jacob Neusner and translated by Jacob Neusner, Tzvee Zahavy, B. Barry Levy, and Edward Goldman. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2009. *

Genesis Rabbah Genesis Rabbah (, also known as Bereshit Rabbah and abbreviated as GenR) is a religious text from Judaism's classical period, probably written between 300 and 500 CE with some later additions. It is an expository midrash comprising a collection of ...

br>1:145:512:113:1415:717:322:244:2153:15
65:15; 68:12; 96:5. Land of Israel, 5th Century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Genesis''. Translated by

Harry Freedman Harry Freedman (''Henryk Frydmann''), (April 5, 1922 – September 16, 2005) was a Canadian composer, English hornist, and music educator of Polish birth. He wrote a significant amount of symphonic works, including the scores to films such as '' ...

and Maurice Simon, volume 1, pages 13, 36, 88, 106, 108, 123, 181, 375, 474; volume 2, pages 590, 626, 890, 930. London: Soncino Press, 1939. *

Leviticus Rabbah Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayiqra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus (''Vayikrah'' in Hebrew). It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel (c. 1035–1106) in his ''Arukh'' as well as by Rashi (1040–110 ...

2:10; 4:1; 18:5; 22:8; 23:5, 12. Land of Israel, 5th Century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Leviticus''. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, pages 30, 49, 175, 233, 287, 295, 303. London: Soncino Press, 1939. *Babylonian

Berakhot 5a–b21a24b35b45a56bShabbat 103bPesachim 111bYoma 37a86bTaanit 7a11aChagigah 5a–b12bYevamot 63bKetubot 8b111bKiddushin 36aBaba Kama 50a60bBava Batra 25a91b97aAvodah Zarah 18a29b

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

, 6th Century. In, e.g., ''Talmud Bavli''. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 volumes. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006. *

Esther Rabbah Esther Rabbah (Hebrew: אסתר רבה) is a midrash to the Book of Esther. From its plan and scope, it is apparently an incomplete collection of the rich aggadic material which has been produced on the Book of Esther. Structure Except in the V ...

prologue 11; 1:6; 5:1; 7:13. 5th–11th centuries. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Esther''. Translated by Maurice Simon, volume 9, pages 24, 67, 98. London: Soncino Press, 1939. *

Ruth Rabbah Ruth Rabbah (Hebrew: רות רבה) is an aggadic and homiletic interpretation of the Book of Ruth. Like the midrash on the four other " megillot", it is included in the Midrash Rabbot. Structure and origin This midrash is divided into eight chap ...

: prologue 3, 4, 7. 6th–7th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Ruth''. Translated by L. Rabinowitz, volume 8, pages 6 ff. London: Soncino Press, 1939. *

Song of Songs Rabbah Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah (Hebrew: שיר השירים רבה) is an aggadic midrash on Song of Songs, quoted by Rashi under the title "Midrash Shir ha-Shirim". It is also called Aggadat Hazita, from its initial word "Hazita", or Midrash Hazita. Simon ...

1:11; 8:7. 6th–7th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Song of Songs''. Translated by Maurice Simon, volume 9, pages 19, 98, 308. London: Soncino Press, 1939. *

Ecclesiastes Rabbah Ecclesiastes Rabbah or Kohelet Rabbah (Hebrew: קהלת רבה) is an aggadic commentary on Ecclesiastes, included in the collection of the Midrash Rabbot. It follows the biblical book verse by verse, only a few verses remaining without commentary ...

2:15; 3:13, 17, 19; 9:5. 6th–8th centuries. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Esther''. Translated by Maurice Simon, volume 8, pages 11, 62, 88, 97, 103–04, 230. London: Soncino Press, 1939.

Medieval

Deuteronomy Rabbah Deuteronomy Rabbah () is an aggadah or homiletic commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy. It does not contain running commentaries on the entire book of Deuteronomy. Rather, it consists of 25 complete, independent homilies (and two fragmentary ones ...

br>1:53:55:48:210:1–411:510
Land of Israel, 9th Century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Deuteronomy''. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939. *

Exodus Rabbah Exodus Rabbah () is the midrash to Exodus. Contents Exodus Rabbah is almost purely aggadic in character. It contains 52 sections. It consists of two sections with different styles, dubbed "Exodus Rabbah I" (sections 1–14, covering Exodus cha ...

1:12; 3:8; 5:12, 14; 13:2; 15:12, 16; 21:3; 23:2, 8; 24:1; 29:7; 30:1, 11, 21; 32:7; 42:1; 51:7. 10th Century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Exodus''. Translated by S. M. Lehrman. London: Soncino Press, 1939. *

Lamentations Rabbah The Midrash on Lamentations () is a midrashic commentary to the Book of Lamentations. It is one of the oldest works of midrash, along with Genesis Rabbah and the '' Pesikta de-Rav Kahana''. Names The midrash is quoted, perhaps for the first ti ...

: prologue 24, 25, 34; 1:33, 55; 2:4. 10th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Deuteronomy/Lamentations''. Translated by A. Cohen, volume 7, pages 37, 52, 64, 107, 145, 159, 161. London: Soncino Press, 1939. *

. ''Commentary''
Deuteronomy 32

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

, France, late 11th Century. In, e.g., Rashi. ''The Torah: With Rashi's Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated''. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, volume 5, pages 329–69. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997. *

Rashbam Samuel ben Meir (Troyes, c. 1085 – c. 1158), after his death known as the "Rashbam", a Hebrew acronym for RAbbi SHmuel Ben Meir, was a leading French Tosafist and grandson of Shlomo Yitzhaki, "Rashi". Biography He was born in the vicinity of ...

. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Troyes, early 12th century. In, e.g., ''Rashbam's Commentary on Deuteronomy: An Annotated Translation''. Edited and translated by Martin I. Lockshin, pages 171–97.

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

: Brown Judaic Studies, 2004. *

Judah Halevi Judah haLevi (also Yehuda Halevi or ha-Levi; ; ; c. 1075 – 1141) was a Sephardic Jewish poet, physician and philosopher. Halevi is considered one of the greatest Hebrew poets and is celebrated for his secular and religious poems, many of whic ...

. ''

Kuzari The ''Kuzari'', full title ''Book of Refutation and Proof on Behalf of the Despised Religion'' (; : ''Kitâb al-ḥujja wa'l-dalîl fi naṣr al-dîn al-dhalîl''), also known as the Book of the Khazar (: ''Sefer ha-Kuzari''), is one of the most ...

''. 2:16; 3:11; 4:3.

Toledo, Spain Toledo ( ; ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, the capital of the province of Toledo and the ''de jure'' seat of the government and parliament of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castilla� ...

, 1130–1140. In, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. ''Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel.'' Introduction by Henry Slonimsky, pages 92, 149, 201. New York: Schocken, 1964. *

Abraham ibn Ezra Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (, often abbreviated as ; ''Ibrāhim al-Mājid ibn Ezra''; also known as Abenezra or simply ibn Ezra, 1089 / 1092 – 27 January 1164 / 23 January 1167)''Jewish Encyclopedia''online; '' Chambers Biographical Dictionar ...

. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Mid-12th century. In, e.g., ''Ibn Ezra's Commentary on the Pentateuch: Deuteronomy (Devarim)''. Translated and annotated by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver, volume 5, pages 232–74. New York: Menorah Publishing Company, 2001. *

Numbers Rabbah Numbers Rabbah (or Bamidbar Rabbah in Hebrew) is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletic interpretations of the Book of Numbers (''Bamidbar'' in Hebrew). In the first pri ...

2:6; 8:4; 9:1, 7, 11, 14, 49; 10:2; 12:11; 13:14; 14:12; 16:5, 24; 17:5
20:1
19, 21. 12th Century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Numbers''. Translated by Judah J. Slotki. London: Soncino Press, 1939. *Letter from Abraham the parnas. Kiev, Middle Ages. In

Mark R. Cohen __NOTOC__ Mark R. Cohen (born March 11, 1943) is an American scholar of Jewish history in the Muslim world. Cohen is Khedouri A. Zilkha Professor Emeritus of Jewish Civilization in the Near East and Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at ...

. ''The Voice of the Poor in the Middle Ages: An Anthology of Documents from the Cairo Geniza'', page 64. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2005. Maimonides bas-relief in the U

. ''

Mishneh Torah The ''Mishneh Torah'' (), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' (), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law (''halakha'') authored by Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon/Rambam). The ''Mishneh Torah'' was compiled between 1170 and 1180 CE ( ...

''
''Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah (The Laws that Are the Foundations of the Torah)'', chapter 1, halachot 9, 12
Egypt, circa 1170–1180. In, e.g., ''Mishneh Torah: Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah: The Laws

hich Are Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...

the Foundations of the Torah''. Translated by Eliyahu Touger, volume 1, pages 148–50, 156–57. New York: Moznaim Publishing, 1989. *Maimonides. ''Mishneh Torah''
''Hilchot Avodat Kochavim V'Chukkoteihem (The Laws of the Worship of Stars and their Statutes)'', chapter 7, halachah 3
Egypt, circa 1170–1180. In, e.g., ''Mishneh Torah: Hilchot Avodat Kochavim V'Chukkoteihem: The Laws of the Worship of Stars and their Statutes''.Translated by Eliyahu Touger, volume 3. New York: Moznaim Publishing, 1990. . *Maimonides. ''

The Guide for the Perplexed ''The Guide for the Perplexed'' (; ; ) is a work of Jewish theology by Maimonides. It seeks to reconcile Aristotelianism with Rabbinical Jewish theology by finding rational explanations for many events in the text. It was written in Judeo-Arabic ...

'', part 1, chapters 16, 36, 48, 70; part 2, chapters 6, 28, 47; part 3, chapters 12, 24– 26, 37– 38, 46, 49, 53.

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, Egypt, 1190. In, e.g., Moses Maimonides. ''The Guide for the Perplexed''. Translated by

Michael Friedländer Michael Friedländer (29 April 1833 – 10 December 1910) was an Orientalist and principal of Jews' College, London. He is best known for his English translation of Maimonides' '' Guide to the Perplexed'', which was the most popular such trans ...

, pages 26, 51, 65, 105, 161, 204, 248, 268, 271, 304, 309–10, 334, 340, 363, 375, 393. New York: Dover Publications, 1956. Nahmanides painting

Hezekiah ben Manoah Hezekiah ben Manoah, or Hezekiah bar Manoah, was a French rabbi and Bible commentator of the 13th century. He is generally known by the title of his commentary, Chizkuni (). In memory of his father, who lost his right hand through his steadfastness ...

. ''Hizkuni''. France, circa 1240. In, e.g., Chizkiyahu ben Manoach. ''Chizkuni: Torah Commentary''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 4, pages 1202–18. Jerusalem: Ktav Publishers, 2013. *

Naḥmanides Moses ben Nachman ( ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ramban (; ) and by the contemporary nickname Bonastruc ça Porta (; l ...

. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Jerusalem, circa 1270. In, e.g., ''Ramban (Nachmanides): Commentary on the Torah: Deuteronomy.'' Translated by Charles B. Chavel, volume 5, pages 352–69. New York: Shilo Publishing House, 1976. Zohar

Zohar The ''Zohar'' (, ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work of Kabbalistic literature. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material o ...

part 1, pages 6a, 22b, 26a, 53a, 87b, 96b, 138b, 139b, 143b, 160a, 161b, 163a, 164a, 177a, 189b, 192a; part 2, pages 5b, 26b, 64a, 64b, 80b, 83b, 86a, 95b, 96a, 108b, 125a, 144a, 155b, 157a, 162b, 210a; part 3, pages 60b, 78b, 126a, 210b, 263a, 268a
286a–299b
. Spain, late 13th Century. In, e.g., ''The Zohar''. Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 volumes. London: Soncino Press, 1934. *

Bahya ben Asher Bahya ben Asher ibn Halawa (, 1255–1340) was a rabbi and scholar of Judaism, best known as a commentator on the Hebrew Bible. He is one of two scholars now referred to as Rabbeinu Behaye, the other being philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda. Biograp ...

. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Spain, early 14th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbeinu Bachya: Torah Commentary by Rabbi Bachya ben Asher''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 7, pages 2773–813. Jerusalem: Lambda Publishers, 2003. *

Isaac ben Moses Arama Isaac ben Moses Arama ( 1420 – 1494) was a Spanish rabbi and author. He was at first principal of a rabbinical academy at Zamora (probably his birthplace); then he received a call as rabbi and preacher from the community at Tarragona, and later ...

. ''Akedat Yizhak (The Binding of Isaac)''. Late 15th century. In, e.g., Yitzchak Arama. ''Akeydat Yitzchak: Commentary of Rabbi Yitzchak Arama on the Torah''. Translated and condensed by Eliyahu Munk, volume 2, pages 914–22. New York, Lambda Publishers, 2001.

Modern

Isaac Abravanel Isaac ben Judah Abarbanel (;‎ 1437–1508), commonly referred to as Abarbanel (; also spelled Abravanel, Avravanel or Abrabanel), was a Portuguese Jewish statesman, philosopher, Bible commentator, and financier. Name Some debate exists ove ...

. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Italy, between 1492–1509. In, e.g., ''Abarbanel: Selected Commentaries on the Torah: Volume 5: Devarim/Deuteronomy''. Translated and annotated by Israel Lazar, pages 200–33. Brooklyn: CreateSpace, 2015. *

Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno Ovadia ben Jacob Sforno (Obadja Sforno, Hebrew: עובדיה ספורנו) was an Italian rabbi, Biblical commentator, philosopher and physician. A member of the Sforno family, he was born in Cesena about 1475 and died in Bologna in 1549. Bi ...

. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Venice, 1567. In, e.g., ''Sforno: Commentary on the Torah''. Translation and explanatory notes by Raphael Pelcovitz, pages 992–1011. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997. Saul Levi Morteira

Moshe Alshich Moshe Alshich , also spelled Alshech, (1508–1593), known as the ''Alshich Hakadosh (the Holy)'', was a prominent rabbi, preacher, and biblical commentator in the latter part of the sixteenth century. Life The Alshich was born in 1508 in the ...

. ''Commentary on the Torah''.

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

, circa 1593. In, e.g., Moshe Alshich. ''Midrash of Rabbi Moshe Alshich on the Torah''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 3, pages 1130–42. New York, Lambda Publishers, 2000. *

Saul Levi Morteira Saul Levi Morteira or Mortera ( 1596 – 10 February 1660) was a rabbi in Amsterdam. He was born in Venice, so he was neither a Sephardic or Ashkenazic Jew. He became a prominent figure in the city's community of exiled Portuguese Jews. H ...

. "They Provoked My Jealousy with a Non-God." Budapest, 1641. In Marc Saperstein. ''Exile in Amsterdam: Saul Levi Morteira's Sermons to a Congregation of "New Jews,"'' pages 489–526.

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Hebrew Union College Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until ...

Press, 2005. *Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. ''Commentaries on the Torah''. Cracow, Poland, mid-17th century. Compiled as ''Chanukat HaTorah''. Edited by Chanoch Henoch Erzohn. Piotrków, Poland, 1900. In Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. ''Chanukas HaTorah: Mystical Insights of Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heschel on Chumash''. Translated by Avraham Peretz Friedman, pages 324–25.

Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Southfield borders Detroit to the north, roughly northwest of downtown Downtown Detroit, Detroit. As of the 2020 Uni ...

Targum Press Menucha Publishers is an Orthodox Jewish English-language publishing company based in Brooklyn, New York. Originally founded as a distributor for Targum Press, in 2011 after Targum's shutdown. Menucha established itself as an independent publis ...

Feldheim Publishers Feldheim Publishers (or Feldheim) is an American Orthodox Jewish publisher of Torah books and literature. Its extensive catalog of titles includes books on Jewish law, Torah, Talmud, Jewish lifestyle, Shabbat and Jewish holidays, Jewish history, ...

, 2004. *

Chaim ibn Attar Chaim ibn Attar or Ḥayyim ben Moshe ibn Attar (, ; – 7 July 1743) also known as the Or ha-Ḥayyim after his popular commentary on the Torah, was a Talmudist and Kabbalist. He is arguably considered to be one of the most prominent Rabbis o ...

. ''Ohr ha-Chaim''. Venice, 1742. In Chayim ben Attar. ''Or Hachayim: Commentary on the Torah''. Translated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 5, pages 1991–2016. Brooklyn: Lambda Publishers, 1999. *

Samson Raphael Hirsch Samson Raphael Hirsch (; June 20, 1808 – December 31, 1888) was a German Orthodox rabbi best known as the intellectual founder of the '' Torah im Derech Eretz'' school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism. Occasionally termed ''neo-Orthodoxy'', hi ...

. ''Horeb: A Philosophy of Jewish Laws and Observances''. Translated by Isidore Grunfeld, pages 444–45. London: Soncino Press, 1962. Reprinted 2002 Originally published as ''Horeb, Versuche über Jissroel's Pflichten in der Zerstreuung''. Germany, 1837. *

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...

. ''Poem 112 (Where bells no more affright the morn —)''. Circa 1859. ''Poem 168 (If the foolish, call them "flowers" —)''. Circa 1860. ''Poem 597 (It always felt to me—a wrong)''. Circa 1862. In ''The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson''. Edited by Thomas H. Johnson, pages 53, 79–80, 293–94. New York: Little, Brown & Co., 1960. Shadal

Samuel David Luzzatto Samuel David Luzzatto (, ; 22 August 1800 – 30 September 1865), also known by the Hebrew acronym Shadal (), was an Italian-Austrian Jewish scholar, poet, and a member of the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement. Early life Luzzatto was born ...

(Shadal). ''Commentary on the Torah.''

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, 1871. In, e.g., Samuel David Luzzatto. ''Torah Commentary''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 4, pages 1271–83. New York: Lambda Publishers, 2012. *

Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter (, 15 April 1847 – 11 January 1905), also known by the title of his main work, the ''Sfas Emes'' (Ashkenazic Pronunciation) or ''Sefat Emet ('') (Modern Hebrew), was a Hasidic rabbi who succeeded his grandfather, Rabbi ...

. ''Sefat Emet''.

Góra Kalwaria Góra Kalwaria (; "Calvary Mountain", , ''Ger'') is a town on the Vistula River in the Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is situated approximately southeast of Warsaw and has a population of around 12,109 (as of 2019). The town has ...

(Ger), Poland, before 1906. Excerpted in ''The Language of Truth: The Torah Commentary of Sefat Emet''. Translated and interpreted by

Arthur Green Arthur Green (, born March 21, 1941) is an American scholar of Jewish mysticism and Neo-Hasidic theologian. He was a founding dean of the non-denominational rabbinical program at Hebrew College in Boston. He describes himself as an American Jew ...

, pages 333–37. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1998. Reprinted 2012.

Hermann Cohen Hermann Cohen (; ; 4 July 1842 – 4 April 1918) was a German philosopher, one of the founders of the Marburg school of neo-Kantianism, and he is often held to be "probably the most important Jewish philosopher of the nineteenth century". Bio ...

. ''Religion of Reason: Out of the Sources of Judaism''. Translated with an introduction by Simon Kaplan; introductory essays by

Leo Strauss Leo Strauss (September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was an American scholar of political philosophy. He spent much of his career as a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, where he taught several generations of students an ...

, page 77. New York: Ungar, 1972. Reprinted

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

: Scholars Press, 1995. Originally published as ''Religion der Vernunft aus den Quellen des Judentums''. Leipzig: , 1919. *Joseph Reider. ''The Holy Scriptures: Deuteronomy with Commentary'', pages 298–321. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1937. *Alexander Alan Steinbach. ''Sabbath Queen: Fifty-four Bible Talks to the Young Based on Each Portion of the Pentateuch'', pages 168–71. New York: Behrman's Jewish Book House, 1936. *

Patrick W. Skehan Patrick William Skehan (September 30, 1909 in New York City – September 9, 1980) was an American Old Testament semitic scholar. Education Skehan received his Bachelor of Arts, B.A. from Fordham University (1929), and studied theology at Sain ...

. "The Structure of the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy." ''

Catholic Biblical Quarterly The ''Catholic Biblical Quarterly'' is a refereed peer-reviewed theology journal published by the Catholic Biblical Association of America (CBA) (CBA) in January, April, July, and October. It was established in 1939 and its circulation in 2010 w ...

'', volume 13 (number 2) (1951): pages 153–63. William Albright 1957

*Patrick W. Skehan
"A Fragment of the 'Song of Moses' (Deut. 32) from Qumran."
''

Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research The ''Bulletin of the American Society of Overseas Research (BASOR)'', formerly the ''Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research'', is one of three academic journals published by the American Society of Overseas Research. It began as t ...

'', volume 136 (1954): pages 12–15. (4QDeut. 32). *

William F. Albright William Foxwell Albright (May 24, 1891 – September 19, 1971) was an American archaeologist, biblical scholar, philologist, and expert on ceramics. He is considered "one of the twentieth century's most influential American biblical scholars ...

. "Some Remarks on the Song of Moses in Dt 32." ''

Vetus Testamentum ''Vetus Testamentum'' is a quarterly academic journal covering various aspects of the Old Testament. It is published by Brill Publishers Brill Academic Publishers () is a Dutch international academic publisher of books, academic journals, and ...

'', volume 9 (1959): pages 339–346. *Herbert B. Huffmon. "The Covenant Lawsuit in the Prophets." ''

Journal of Biblical Literature The ''Journal of Biblical Literature'' (''JBL'') is one of three academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academ ...

'', volume 78 (1959): page 285. * G. Ernest Wright. "The Lawsuit of God: A Form-Critical Study of Deuteronomy 32." In ''Israel's Prophetic Heritage: Essays in Honor of James Muilenburg'', pages 26–67. Edited by Bernhard W. Anderson and Walter Harrelson. London: SCM Press, 1962. *James R. Boston. "The Wisdom Influence upon the Song of Moses." ''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 87 (1968): pages 198–202. Martin Buber portrait

Martin Buber Martin Buber (; , ; ; 8 February 1878 – 13 June 1965) was an Austrian-Israeli philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of existentialism centered on the distinction between the I and Thou, I–Thou relationship and the I� ...

. ''On the Bible: Eighteen studies'', pages 80–92. New York: Schocken Books, 1968. *

Nehama Leibowitz Nechama Leibowitz (; September 3, 1905 – April 12, 1997) was Israel Prize laureate and Israeli Bible scholar and commentator who rekindled interest in Bible study. Biography Nechama Leibowitz was born to an Orthodox Jewish family in Riga two ...

. ''Studies in Devarim: Deuteronomy'', pages 327–69. Jerusalem: The

World Zionist Organization The World Zionist Organization (; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the Zionist Organization (ZO; 1897–1960) at the initiative of Theodor Herzl at the F ...

, 1980. *J. Kenneth Kuntz. "Psalm 18: A Rhetorical-Critical Analysis." ''

Journal for the Study of the Old Testament The ''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'' (JSOT) is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the field of Biblical studies. The editors-in-chief are David Shepherd (Trinity College Dublin) and Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer ( Örebro School of Theol ...

'', volume 26 (1983): pages 3–31. (Psalm 18 is nearly identical to the haftarah, 2 Samuel 22). * Pinchas H. Peli. ''Torah Today: A Renewed Encounter with Scripture'', pages 239–42. Washington, D.C.: B'nai B'rith Books, 1987. *J.M. Wiebe, "The Form, Setting and Meaning of the Song of Moses," ''Studia Biblica et Theologica'', volume 17 (1989): pages 119–63. *

Elliot N. Dorff Elliot N. Dorff (born 24 June 1943) is an American Conservative rabbi. He is a visiting professor of law at UCLA School of Law and Distinguished Professor of Jewish theology at the American Jewish University (formerly the University of Judaism) in ...

"A Jewish Approach to End-Stage Medical Care."
New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 1990. YD 339:1.1990b. In ''Responsa: 1980–1990: The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Movement''. Edited by David J. Fine, pages 519, 531–32, 564. New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2005. (implications of God's ownership of the universe on the duty to maintain life and health). * Harold Fisch. "The Song of Moses: Pastoral in Reverse." In ''Poetry with a Purpose: Biblical Poetics and Interpretation'', pages 55–79. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1990. *

Patrick D. Miller Patrick D. Miller, Jr. (24 October 1935 – 1 May 2020) was an American Old Testament scholar who served as Charles T. Haley Professor of Old Testament Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary from 1984 to 2005. He was an ordained minister in t ...

. ''Deuteronomy'', pages 226–35. Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1990. * Mark S. Smith. ''The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel'', pages 6–7, 10–11, 21–23, 30–31, 49, 63–64, 68–69, 92, 96–98, 114, 162. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1990. *Avram Israel Reisner
"Joint Aliyot."
New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 1992. OH 136.1992. In ''Responsa: 1991–2000: The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Movement''. Edited by Kassel Abelson and David J. Fine, pages 21, 23–24. New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2002. (implications of the command to "exalt our God" for joint or single blessings). *''A Song of Power and the Power of Song: Essays on the Book of Deuteronomy''. Edited by Duane L. Christensen.

Winona Lake, Indiana Winona Lake is a town in Wayne Township, Kosciusko County, in the U.S. state of Indiana, and the major suburb of Warsaw. Its population was 4,908 at the 2010 census. Geography Winona Lake is now contiguous to Warsaw, the two towns having merged ...

: Eisenbrauns, 1993. *Steven Weitzman
"Lessons from the Dying: The Role of Deuteronomy 32 in Its Narrative Setting."
''

Harvard Theological Review The ''Harvard Theological Review'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1908 and published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Harvard Divinity School. It covers a wide spectrum of fields in theological and rel ...

'', volume 87 (number 4) (October 1994): page 377–93. *Judith S. Antonelli. "God's Daughters." In ''In the Image of God: A Feminist Commentary on the Torah'', pages 494–95.

Northvale, New Jersey Northvale is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,761, an increase of 121 (+2.6%) from the 2010 United S ...

Jason Aronson Jason Aronson was an American publisher of books in the field of psychotherapy. Topics dealt with in these books include child therapy, family therapy, couple therapy, object relations therapy, play therapy, depression, eating disorders, per ...

, 1995. *

Richard Elliott Friedman Richard Elliott Friedman (born May 5, 1946) is an American biblical scholar, theologian, and translator who currently serves as the Ann and Jay Davis Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Georgia. Life and career Friedman was born in ...

. ''The Disappearance of God: A Divine Mystery''. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1995. *

Ellen Frankel Ellen Frankel (born 1951) was the editor-in-chief of the Jewish Publication Society (JPS) from 1991 until 2009, and its CEO for ten years. She retired in 2009 to pursue her own writing and scholarly projects, as JPS's first editor emerita. Biogra ...

. ''The Five Books of Miriam: A Woman's Commentary on the Torah'', pages 298–300. New York:

G. P. Putnam's Sons G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam an ...

, 1996. *J. Clinton McCann Jr. "The Book of Psalms." In '' The New Interpreter's Bible''. Edited by Leander E. Keck, volume 4, pages 743–50. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996. (commentary on Psalm 18, which is nearly identical to the haftarah, 2 Samuel 22). *Solomon A. Nigosian. "The Song of Moses (DT 32): A Structural Analysis," ''

Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses ''Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering theology and canon lawIt was established in 1924and is published by Peeters (publishing company), Peeters. It publishes articles, notes and comments, and ...

'', volume 72 (1996): pages 5–22. * W. Gunther Plaut. ''The Haftarah Commentary'', pages 518–30. New York: UAHC Press, 1996. *Paul Sanders. ''The Provenance of Deuteronomy 32''. Leiden: Brill Academic Pub, 1996. *Jeffrey H. Tigay. ''The JPS Torah Commentary: Deuteronomy: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation'', pages 298–317, 508–18. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1996. *Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden. ''Teaching Torah: A Treasury of Insights and Activities'', pages 345–49.

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

: A.R.E. Publishing, 1997. *Solomon A. Nigosian. "Linguistic Patterns of Deuteronomy 32." ''

Biblica Biblica, formerly International Bible Society, was founded in 1809 and is the worldwide copyright holder of the New International Version of the Bible (NIV), licensing commercial rights to Zondervan in the United States and to Hodder & Stoughton ...

'', volume 78 (1997): pages 206–24. *

Jan P. Fokkelman Jan Pieter Fokkelman (born 23 March 1940) is a Dutch biblical scholar renowned for his literary and structural analyses of the Hebrew Bible. His extensive work, particularly on the books of Genesis and Samuel, has significantly influenced modern ...

. ''Major Poems of the Hebrew Bible: At the Interface of Hermeneutics and Structural Analysis: Volume 1, Exodus 15, Deuteronomy 32, and Job 3'', pages 58–62. Brill Academic Pub, 1998. *

Nina Beth Cardin Nina Beth Cardin is a rabbi, author, and environmental activist. In 1978, she founded the Jewish Women’s Resource Center. Rabbinic career and social activism In 1988, Cardin was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary, after which she held ...

. "Understanding the Anger." In ''The Women's Torah Commentary: New Insights from Women Rabbis on the 54 Weekly Torah Portions''. Edited by

Elyse Goldstein Elyse Goldstein is a Canadian Reform rabbi. She is the first woman to be elected as president of the interdenominational Toronto Board of Rabbis and president of the Reform Rabbis of Greater Toronto. Early life and education Goldstein was bor ...

, pages 390–96.

Woodstock, Vermont Woodstock is the shire town (county seat) of Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,005. It includes the villages of Woodstock, South Woodstock, Taftsville, and West Woodstock. History Cha ...

Jewish Lights Publishing Jewish Lights Publishing is a publishing company. Founded in 1990 by Stuart Matlins in Woodstock, Vermont, the company publishes works for children and adults that come from a Judaic perspective, yet provide wisdom to readers of any spiritual bac ...

, 2000. *Richard D. Nelson. "Deuteronomy." In ''The HarperCollins Bible Commentary''. Edited by James L. Mays, pages 211–12. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, revised edition, 2000. *Lainie Blum Cogan and Judy Weiss. ''Teaching Haftarah: Background, Insights, and Strategies'', pages 91–99. Denver: A.R.E. Publishing, 2002. *

. ''The JPS Bible Commentary: Haftarot'', pages 317–24, 384–91. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2002. *Ronald Bergey
"The Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32.1–43) and Isaianic Prophecies: A Case of Early Intertextuality?"
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 28 (number 1) (2003): pages 34–36. *

. ''The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary'', pages 1038–47. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2004. *

Bernard M. Levinson Bernard Malcolm Levinson serves as Professor of Classical and Near Eastern Studies and of Law at the University of Minnesota, where he holds the Berman Family Chair in Jewish Studies and Hebrew Bible. He is the author of ''Deuteronomy and the Herm ...

. "Deuteronomy." In ''The Jewish Study Bible''. Edited by

Adele Berlin Adele Berlin (born May 23, 1943 in Philadelphia) is an American biblical scholar and Hebraist. Before her retirement, she was Robert H. Smith Professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Maryland. Berlin is best known for 1994 work ''Poet ...

and Marc Zvi Brettler, pages 440–45. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. *Matthew Thiessen
"The Form and Function of the Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:1–43)."
''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 123 (number 3) (2004): pages 407–24. *''Professors on the Parashah: Studies on the Weekly Torah Reading'' Edited by Leib Moscovitz, pages 349–54. Jerusalem:

Urim Publications Urim Publications, an independent publisher of Jewish interest books, is based in Jerusalem, with an outlet in Brooklyn, New York. Established in 1997 by Tzvi Mauer, Urim publishes approximately fifteen books per year on various topics related to ...

, 2005.

*W. Gunther Plaut. ''The Torah: A Modern Commentary: Revised Edition''. Revised edition edited by David E.S. Stern, pages 1398–417. New York:

Union for Reform Judaism The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) until 2003, founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America. The other two arms establ ...

, 2006. *Suzanne A. Brody. "Witness." In ''Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems'', page 111. Shelbyville, Kentucky: Wasteland Press, 2007. * Jan Joosten
"A Note on the Text of Deuteronomy xxxii 8."
''

'', volume 57 (number 4) (2007): pages 548–55. James Kugel cropped

* James L. Kugel. ''How To Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now'', pages 70, 308, 348, 355–56, 421, 621–22, 631–32. New York: Free Press, 2007. *Mark Leuchter
"Why Is the Song of Moses in the Book of Deuteronomy?
''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 57 (number 3) (2007): pages 295–317. *''The Torah: A Women's Commentary''. Edited by

Tamara Cohn Eskenazi Tamara Cohn Eskenazi is The Effie Wise Ochs Professor of Biblical Literature and History at the Reform Jewish seminary Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles. She was the first woman hired by the Hebrew Union College-Jew ...

and Andrea L. Weiss, pages 1251–70. New York: URJ Press, 2008. *Sidnie White Crawford, Jan Joosten, and Eugene Ulrich
"Sample Editions of the Oxford Hebrew Bible: Deuteronomy 32:1–9, 1 Kings 11:1–8, and Jeremiah 27:1–10 (34 G)."
''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 58 (number 3) (2008): pages 352–66. *Eugene E. Carpenter. "Deuteronomy." In ''Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary''. Edited by

John H. Walton John H. Walton (born 1952) is an Old Testament scholar. He is Professor Emeritus at Wheaton College and was a Moody Bible Institute professor previously. He specializes in the Ancient Near Eastern backgrounds of the Old Testament, especially Gen ...

, volume 1, pages 516–20. Grand Rapids, Michigan:

Zondervan Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). It is a part of HarperCollins, Ha ...

, 2009. *Terry Giles and William J. Doan. ''Twice-Used Songs: Performance Criticism of the Songs of Ancient Israel'', pages 105–11. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 2009. *

Reuven Hammer Reuven Hammer (; June 30, 1933 – August 12, 2019) was an American-Israeli Conservative rabbi, scholar of Jewish liturgy, author and lecturer who was born in New York. He was a founder of the "Masorti" (Conservative) movement in Israel and a pres ...

. ''Entering Torah: Prefaces to the Weekly Torah Portion'', pages 299–303. New York: Gefen Publishing House, 2009. *Jhos Singer. "Dor l'Dor: Parashat Ha'azinu (Deuteronomy 32:1–52)." In ''Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible''. Edited by Gregg Drinkwater, Joshua Lesser, and David Shneer; foreword by

Judith Plaskow Judith Plaskow (born March 14, 1947) is an American theologian, author, and activist known for being the first Jewish feminist theologian. After earning her doctorate at Yale University, she taught at Manhattan College for thirty-two years before ...

, pages 271–76. New York: New York University Press, 2009. *Justin J. Evans
"I Love You: Text-Critical Note on Psalm 18:2."
''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 60 (number 4) (2010): pages 659–61. (Psalm 18 is nearly identical to the haftarah, 2 Samuel 22). Shmuel Herzfeld at House of Representatives cropped

Shmuel Herzfeld at House of Representatives cropped

*''The Jewish Annotated New Testament''. Edited by

Amy-Jill Levine Amy-Jill Levine (born 1956) is Rabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace. She works in biblical studies and is a self described "critic of anti ...

and Marc Zvi Brettler, page 2. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. (At the end of the Gospel of Matthew, at Matthew 28:16, Jesus gives instructions to his followers from a mountain, as Moses did in Deuteronomy 32:48, thus anchoring Jesus in Jewish tradition.) * Shmuel Herzfeld. "Write for Yourselves This Song." In ''Fifty-Four Pick Up: Fifteen-Minute Inspirational Torah Lessons'', pages 298–303. Jerusalem:

Gefen Publishing House Gefen Publishing House () is an English language publishing firm located in Jerusalem, which also has a department in New York City. History Gefen was founded in 1981 by Murray and Hana Greenfield. Its CEO is Ilan Greenfield, son of the founder ...

, 2012.

Shlomo Riskin Shlomo Riskin (; born May 28, 1940) is an Orthodox rabbi, and the founding rabbi of Lincoln Square Synagogue on the Upper West Side of New York City, which he led for 20 years; founding chief rabbi of the Israeli settlement of Efrat in the Is ...

. ''Torah Lights: Devarim: Moses Bequeaths Legacy, History, and Covenant'', pages 363–67.

New Milford, Connecticut New Milford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town, part of Greater Danbury, as well as the New York Metropolitan Area, has a population of 28,115 as of the 2020 census. New Milford lies north of Danbury on the ...

: Maggid Books, 2014. *''The Commentators' Bible: The Rubin JPS Miqra'ot Gedolot: Deuteronomy.'' Edited, translated, and annotated by Michael Carasik, pages 215–38. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2015. Sirjonathansacks

Jonathan Sacks Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks (8 March 19487 November 2020) was an English Orthodox rabbi, philosopher, theologian, and author. Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991 to 2013. As ...

. ''Lessons in Leadership: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'', pages 293–97. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2015. *Jonathan Sacks. ''Essays on Ethics: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'', pages 329–33. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2016. *

Shai Held Shai Held (born July 2, 1971) is President, Dean, and Chair in Jewish Thought at the Hadar institute, which he founded in 2006 with Rabbis Elie Kaunfer and Ethan Tucker. Education Held attended Ramaz High School and studied at Yeshivat HaMi ...

. ''The Heart of Torah, Volume 2: Essays on the Weekly Torah Portion: Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy'', pages 285–94. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017. *Steven Levy and Sarah Levy. ''The JPS Rashi Discussion Torah Commentary'', pages 177–80. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017. *Jonathan Sacks. ''Covenant & Conversation: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible: Deuteronomy: Renewal of the Sinai Covenant'', pages 309–43. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2019.

External links

Texts

Masoretic text and 1917 JPS translation

Commentaries

Academy for Jewish Religion, New York

Aish.com

American Jewish University—Ziegler School of Rabbinic StudiesBar-Ilan UniversityChabad.orgHadarJewish Theological SeminaryMyJewishLearning.comPardes from JerusalemReconstructing Judaism

Sephardic InstituteTorah.orgUnion for Reform JudaismUnited Synagogue of Conservative Judaism

Yeshiva University
{{Weekly Torah Portions Weekly Torah readings in Tishrei Weekly Torah readings from Deuteronomy