Devarim 5786

Devarim marks a significant transition in the Torah. While it restates earlier events and laws, Moses now addresses the people directly, preparing them to take responsibility for their own future. Significantly, the Torah shifts from calling them The children of Israel to simply Israel. They are no longer just descendants of a common ancestor but a nation bound together by a shared destiny and mutual responsibility.

As they prepare to enter the Land of Israel, the people must move from dependence on divine miracles to building a society of their own—creating systems of justice, defending one another, and living by the covenant at Sinai. This new relationship is captured by the rabbinic principle, "Kol Yisrael arevin zeh bazeh"—all Israel are responsible for one another. Judaism understands that individuals flourish through community and that a people survives when its members care for each other.

This idea lies at the heart of Judaism: faith is not merely a private relationship between an individual and God but something lived collectively. Judaism deeply values the individual, yet it rejects individualism by insisting that holiness is found in relationships and shared responsibility. The shift from "the children of Israel" to "Israel" teaches that God's covenant is with an entire people, and that we encounter God most profoundly not in the "I" but in the "we."

The ideas are shaped and based on the work of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, and influenced by Maimonides, Nachmani