If you look in Torah you will not see the name for this holiday as Rosh Hashanah. It is called Yom Teruah, or the day of the blasting of the shofar. This is altogether appropriate since the blowing of the shofar, many times over, is the liturgical highlight of the holiday.

" I am now one hundred and twenty years old; I can no longer be active. (Deuteronomy 31:1)"

With that surprising announcement, Moses begins his final address to the children of Israel. ...

The Torah often reads like an epic saga on a par with the Greek myths of Hercules, Perseus or Achilles. The Scriptures are filled with the exploits of larger than life heroes like the courageous Noah, the faithful Abraham, the valiant Joseph.

Our Torah portion this week is full of principles guiding how the people of Israel are to interact with each other in daily, civil life. 

Shof’tim has dozens of passages of instruction: Don’t worship idols, how courts and kings should behave, the Prophet like Moses, etc. One particular section, Dt. 20:1–9, does not seem that memorable on the surface. It discusses some of the instructions for waging war against the various Canaanite city-states that the Israelites must oust from their Promised Land. Remember, these people are only one generation away from centuries of slavery in Egypt. 

 I’ve never really connected with Deuteronomy. I am not sure why. Perhaps it is because so much of it is a repetition of the Law which we’ve already read previously, and so I’ve glossed over it. 

However, when revisiting this portion I felt the words leap off the page. I felt a sense of passion ...

In this week’s parasha, Moshe is summarizing the things for Israel to remember before he dies and a new leader takes his place, before Aaron dies and a new leader takes his place, and before the people enter Land of Israel.