By Rabbi Elliot Kaplowitz
Parshat Devarim is always read the Shabbat preceding Tisha B’Av (9th of Av). Tisha B’Av marks the day on which the first and second Temples were destroyed.
Many other tragedies are associated with the day, and it has been designated as the day on which we mourn all tragedies that befell the Jewish people. There are many explanations offered for the connection between Parshat Devarim and Tisha B’Av.
The parshah opens by giving a detailed account of the location of Moshe’s speech to the Jewish people: These are the words that Moses addressed to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan — Through the wilderness, in the Arabah near Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Di-zahab.
At first glance, it seems that this level of detail of the location of Moshe’s speech is superfluous. Rashi explains that the locations mentioned allude to places where the Jewish people had angered God in the desert. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch maintains that the Torah is providing the precise location where Moshe addressed the nation.
The Torah goes into such detail so that later generations will be able to find the exact location of Moshe’s speech and be able to better connect with his words. Rabbi Yehuda Amital (1924-2010), one of the great leaders of modern Israel, whose yahrzeit was recently observed, offers a fascinating explanation. He points to verse 5 which says Moshe undertook to expound this teaching.
Rashi explains that Moshe spoke to the Jewish people in “the seventy languages of the ancient world.” Rav Amital explains that the historical details matter to teach that the Torah has a unique message for each generation — “Moshe adapted his words to the specific time and place where they were spoken.” Someone who is truly committed to a life of Torah “must look around and think well how best to apply [their] Torah learning to the circumstances around [them].”
While Rav Amital’s conclusion rings true at all times, it is especially relevant as we prepare for Tisha B’Av. The challenge of Tisha B’Av is to be able to experience the loss of the Beit ha-Mikdash (Temple) and the destruction of Jerusalem as something that matters to us. The day is spent mourning countless other tragedies that befell the Jewish people throughout history.
Many efforts are made to contextualize the destruction of the Beit haMikdash and the other tragedies marked in the kinot (liturgical lamentations) so that they speak to us. It is even more difficult for us to mourn the destruction of Jerusalem when we know Jerusalem to be a bustling city, the capital of the state of Israel!
This year, the challenge of relating to Tisha B’Av feels less daunting. In the aftermath of Oct. 7 and the ongoing war in Israel, and the rise of antisemitism across the world we can all relate to Tisha B’Av this year. Many kinot have been composed bewailing the losses of Oct. 7, and I am sure that many of our synagogues will include them in the liturgy of the day.
Parshat Devarim is read before Tisha B’Av to drive home the message that the Torah and our commitment to Jewish living are relevant to our lives and our day. This message helps us to contextualize the events of our day in the greater course of Jewish history.
Rabbi Elliot Kaplowitz serves as the rabbi of Congregation Netivot Shalom in Baltimore.
