- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Va'etchanan
- Shabbat and Holidays
- The Seven Weeks of Condolence
The parsha also deals with the Ten Commandments of Sinai. I have often thought that the repetition of this subject, which seemed to be adequately covered once in the Book of Shemot, teaches us an important lesson, which again may serve to be a source of consolation to us. The "first" Ten Commandments was given at the beginning of the Jewish sojourn in the desert of Sinai. There was no Golden calf, no complaints about the manna, no spies, no Korach, no plagues of snakes - nothing had yet occurred to diminish the light and aura of Sinai. Well, in such a perfect society there is no reason not to recognize the values and laws of the Ten Commandments as being valid and even necessary in practice. But now Moshe stands forty years later after all of the disappointments and rebellions, the backsliding and the pettiness, the death of an entire generation, and reassures us in the "second" Ten Commandments that all of those values and rules have not changed at all. The lesson of the immutability of Torah and Halacha is thereby engraved upon the Jewish heart and mind. Many things have happened to the Jewish people since Moshe’s speech before his death. Many have mistakenly thought that all of the changes in technology, economies, world orders, etc. have made the Ten Commandments, Torah and Halacha somehow less relevant. Moshe stands and speaks to us to remind us that the basic anchor of Jewish life and in fact of all world civilization lies in those words of Sinai. Everything has changed but human beings have not changed. And neither then has God’s instructions for us.

Idols Where There Should be Ideals
Parashat Vaetchanan
Rabbi Moshe Erenreich | Av, 5763

The Bigger They Are
Rabbi Stewart Weiss | Av 5783

The Land of Israel Hidden in the 10 Commandments
Rabbi Moshe Tzuriel | Av 15 5782

Parsha Summary: V’etchanan
An Overview of the Torah Portion
Rabbi Stewart Weiss
Daf Yomi Sanhedrin Daf 53
R' Eli Stefansky | 10 Shevat 5785
