Parsha discussion

Question:  How do we understand the מצוה of הקהל? It seems to be given after משה finishes writing the תורה Approach : It would seem, given that הקהל is in the same paragraph as the verse stating that משה finished writing the תורה and gave it to the tribes, that the purpose of הקהל is to recreate this initial giving of the תורה on a periodic basis. This is also based on the same phrase used in both contexts of התורה הזאת.

Question:  30:11-14 there seems to be a lot of repetition of essentially the same thing. Why? Approach: it seems that the first verse is expounded upon by the subsequent verses in a chiastic structure. We are told ולא רחוקה היא, which is then explained as not being in the heavens or across the seas. And then לא נפלאת היא ממך is explained by stressing that בפיך ובלבבך לעשותו.

Question:  In all other cases where the לויים are separated out from the rest of the nation, מנשה ואפרים replace יוסף. Why not with the ceremony on הר גריזים ועיבל? Approach:  We would first suggest that the לויים also had to be part of the ceremony, and accept upon themselves the ברכות וקללות. Secondly, our פרשה here doesn't actually imply that the לויים were in between the two mountains; rather it can be understood that the לויים stated both from their perch on the mountain. It should be noted that the carrying out of the ceremony, as recorded in ספר יהושע, could more easily be interpreted that the כהנים and/or some of the לויים stood between the two mountains.

Question:  Why are the rules of יד & יתד separated from the other rules of war? Approach: It would appear, based on the end of the words of והיה מחניך קדוש, that the laws in this section all pertain to forms of holiness in various aspects of life, and living in a more elevated way. This manifests itself in rules surrounding family lineage rules, personal behaviour in war (our examples), interpersonal rules (such as קדש and the runaway slave) and living up to your word.

Question:  Why is it considered a blessing to have more ערי מקלט? Wouldn't this imply more manslaughter occurring? Approach: On the face of it, we can explain that, with the population more spread out, we need to provide more cities so that the רוצח בשוגג can reach an עיר מקלט quicker. We might also explain that the three extra cities are the three on the East Bank of the Jordan, as the initial command in this section doesn't mention them whatsoever. This would imply that this speech was initially given by משה well in advance of the conquering of the East Bank.