Parshas Devarim
Review, Review, Review!
The final book of the Chumash, Dvarim, is also known as Mishneh Torah – the
restatement and review of the Torah. Though the book of Dvarim does contain
within it descriptions of mitzvoth/commandments there were not previously
mentioned in the Torah, it nevertheless remains mainly a review of the
previous books of the Chumash.
It rarely breaks new ground except for the prophetic portions of the book
which mark its concluding chapters. The question may arise as to what the
purpose and importance of the book might be. Repetitive works hardly hold
the attention of the reader or student. Yet Jewish tradition and traditional
Jewish educational methods emphasize clearly the requirement of constant
review of Torah topics.
As an example, shochtim, Jewish ritual slaughterers of animals and poultry,
are required to review the halachic rules that are pertinent to their craft
at least once every thirty days. The Talmud emphasizes the importance of
reviewing Torah study, even sharply differentiating between the students who
review one’s Torah lesson one hundred times to the ones who review it one
hundred and one times!
Perhaps in times when individual powers of memory were so essential to
success in Torah study, this idea of review was certainly pertinent and
necessary educational methodology. But what of our current age, when all the
knowledge of previous generations is available almost effortlessly with the
press of a button on our computer keyboard? Is review of already stated laws
and events truly necessary any longer? The answer of course is a resounding
“yes” but why is this true. The matter has occupied my thoughts for some time.
I think that the review is always necessary for even though the words of the
Torah are the same and are unchangeable, the person studying those words is
constantly undergoing change. Human life never stands still. The words of
Moshe to the Jewish people at the end of the period of the desert have taken
on a different dimension and meaning than when he first taught those laws
decades earlier.
Life shapes our appreciation of knowledge gained. It makes us wiser and more
foolish all at one and the same time. Things that we thought we knew and
understood are now mysteries to us and what we did not understand and
appreciate at an earlier stage of life now become relevant and essential.
The Book of Dvarim comes to teach us, according to the Talmud, that we
really cannot appreciate knowledge learned and studied from our Torah
teachers until “forty years” has passed. It is the review of the past
learned knowledge that makes that knowledge truly meaningful to us. My
teachers in the yeshiva always emphasized the importance of constant review
of topics already studied and seemingly mastered.
“Forty years” has passed for me since those holy days of intensive Torah
study in the yeshiva and only now do I begin to appreciate and understand
those lessons learned and the knowledge then gained. The lesson of Dvarim
therefore lies in its other title – Mishneh Torah – an ongoing review and
restatement of Torah throughout our years of life.
Shabat shalom.
Rabbi Berel Wein
