D’varim
As the mourning of the three previous weeks anticipates its apogee with the observance of Tisha B’Av—the tradition’s full day of mourning for the cataclysms of the past—the community begins the reading of the fifth book of the Torah, Deuteronomy (or D’varim in Hebrew). Presented as Moses’ final oration, Deuteronomy is essentially a retelling of the story of desert wandering, offering a reframing of the books of Exodus and Numbers.
Biblical scholars agree that Deuteronomy is likely to be the same scroll—in its earliest form—found by King Josiah’s personnel in approximately 620 B.C.E. (See 2 Kings 22:8-10) Thus, it preceded the destruction of the Temple by about 40 years. When the Jews were exiled to Babylon, they brought their sacred literature along with them, including the core of the text that would become Deuteronomy. In exile, they expanded on the book and edited others, moving ever closer to piecing together the Bible that has become our sacred inheritance.
At that time, still with the bitter taste of exile in their mouths, they held on to the dream of returning to their homeland, laying the foundations for the astounding capacity of the Jewish people to resurrect themselves from the ashes of destruction. The conception of God in Deuteronomy approaches the monotheism that is familiar to us today—the Sh’ma and V’ahavta are found in this book. Furthermore, the sacred relationship with the land of Israel becomes even more prominent, as Deuteronomy—more than any other book in the Torah—establishes rules for living in the land. Importantly, the centrality of study as a way of understanding the sacred word also becomes essential. (Learn more about the origins of Deuteronomy here.)
That the Jews, as a transnational people, truly coalesced and formalized our own sacred library in exile points to the capacity of our people to turn tragedy into triumph. As we pass through the dark time of remembrance that marks these three weeks of mourning through Tisha B’Av, a deep dive into Jewish memory reveals that not only have there been many dark times, but it is often when the days are darkest that we truly see the light that shines so brightly throughout the generations.
—Rabbi Ron Stern