Devarim: Zemer of The Week

 

 

Opening stanzas:

הגיע הזמן להשתנות
גם אם פספסנו תחנות
אפשר לרדת, יש רכבת חזרה לשכונות [1, 2]

 

The time has come to wake up

To leave everything- to overcome

To return home- Not to search for any other place.

 

The time has come to change,

Even if we've missed a few stops,

You can get off, there's a train going back

 

“Word of the Week” explored the quiet drift that can gradually separate us from the people we hope to become. Drawing on Adam's אַיֶּכָּה, Moshe's אֵיכָה, and Yirmiyahu's אֵיכָה, we saw that life's greatest dangers often develop slowly, through countless small choices.

 

Ishay Ribo's "Lashuv Habayta" offers the hopeful next chapter. "Home" is not merely a physical place; it is our authentic spiritual home, with the values, relationships, and closeness to God that define who we truly are. The song reminds us that recognizing our drift is a key inflection points in our story. Once we ask, "How did I get here?" we can begin asking an even more important question: "How do I return?"

 

Together, the parsha and the song teach that while spiritual drift can happen quietly, so can spiritual return – one thoughtful choice, one renewed commitment, and one small step at a time.

 

 

The zemer for this week: כל מקדש שביעי

 

Yaakov Shwekey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeS7f8yjnxY
 

 

 

This zemer first appeared in the Machzor Vitry, which was compiled by Simcha ben Shmuel of Vitry (died 1105).  The name of the zemer’s author, Moshe, is hidden in the initials of the second words of the first three stanzas.  The zemer praises Sabbath observers and asks Hashem to bless them.  After the opening stanza, the lines of the zemer follow an א-ב order, ending in צ; the version in the Machzor Vitry includes one more stanza that has the remaining four letters of the א-ב.  Each stanza ends with a verse from Tanach.

 

Central elements of this parsha include preparation for entering Eretz Yisrael and the recounting of prior wars fought by Bnai Yisrael.

 

Some of the zemer’s connections to the parsha are as follows:

·  “ז” line:
“זכרו תורת משה” (“Remember the Torah of Moshe”) – Chazal refer to Sefer Devarim as Moshe’s “Mishneh Torah” (“repetition of the Torah”) in which he reviewed (and extended) the history and laws given to Bnai Yisrael.

o The name of this zemer’s author is also Moshe.  (According to Artscroll, the acrostic forming his name is hidden in the initials of the second words of the first three lines.)

·  “ד” line:
“זרע אברהם אוהבו” (“Descendants of Avraham, His beloved”)
and “כ” line:
“כל זרע יעקב” (“All descendants of Yaakov”) – In Devarim 1:8, Rashi points out that each of the Avot was worthy of having his descendants inherit Eretz Yisrael.  (According to Sifrei, the pasuk indicates this by prefixing the name of each of the Avot with a “-ל”.)

o The zemer adds on the further detail that all of Yaakov’s descendants inherited the Land, but only some descendants of Avraham.

·  “א” line:
“בבנין אריאל” (“With the building of the Bais Hamikdash”)
and “ש” line:
“בבנין שלם” (“With the building of Yerushalayim”) – From Devarim 1:25, Rashi derives that Eretz Yisrael is the loftiest place on Earth.  The Gemara (Kiddushin 69a) extends this to Yerushalayim (the loftiest place in Eretz Yisrael) and the Bais Hamikdash (the loftiest in Yerushalayim).

·   “ע” line:
“עזור לשובתים בשביעי, בחריש ובקציר” (“Help those who desist from plowing and harvesting on the seventh day”) – This echoes the promise that Hashem will bless Bnai Yisrael “in all of their work” (Devarim 2:7).

·   “ל” line:
“לנוח בו ולשמוח בתענוג אכול ושתו” (“To rest on it and be glad with the pleasure of eating and drinking”) – Twice in the parsha, eating and drinking play central roles. 

o First, Hashem tells Bnai Yisrael that they should buy food and drink from “your brothers,” the children of Esav (Devarim 2:5-6). 

o Then, in contrast, Moshe recounts how Hashem ordered Bnai Yisrael to attack Sichon, king of the Bashan, after Sichon refused to sell food and drink to Bnai Yisrael (Devarim 2:28-30).

o This also is a vivid example of the “מ” line in the zemer:
“א-ל קנוא ונוקם” (“O G-d, Who is jealous and vengeful”).  Artscroll cites the Bais Yaakov, who says that Hashem jealously guards the honor of Bnai Yisrael and “wreaks vengeance against those who oppress His people.”