Parsha Inspired Menus - D'varim

אֵ֣לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֗ים

"These are the words..."

And so begins the final book of the Torah and Moshe's long goodbye speech to the Israelites. After the Exodus and 40 years in the desert, this part of the journey is ending, Moshe's leadership is coming to a close. Part of what makes this moment and this statement remarkable is that it will be Moshe's long speech. Remember back in Exodus when Moshe first protested being asked to go to Egypt?

"But Moses said to יהוה, “Please, O my lord, I have never been a man of words, either in times past or now that You have spoken to Your servant; I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” (Shemot 4:10)

And now he gives a speech the length of a book!

Midrash Tanchuma has something very interesting to say on this:

Midrash Tanchuma, Devarim 2:1

(Deut. 1:1:) “These are the words that Moses spoke….” Israel said, “Yesterday you said (in Exod. 4:10), ‘I am not a man of words.’ And now you are speaking so much?”

Rabbi Isaac said, “If you are impeded in your speech, recite the Torah and you will be healed, [as]

Moshe already studied all of the Torah.” (Deut. 1:1, cont.:)... “Then the lame shall leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall shout for joy.”

I don't think that it was a magical solution of reciting Torah, but rather I think that Moshe gained confidence over his time in the desert and leadership so that he felt ready to speak, whatever impediment he had. So, in honor of the "Words" and gaining confidence - make alphabet soup or alphabet cookies.

After giving a brief summary of the creation of a more diverse leadership structure, Moshe talks about the incident with the spies and says:

They took some of the fruit of the land with them and brought it down to us. And they gave us this report: “It is a good land that our God יהוה is giving to us.”

Yet you refused to go up, and flouted the command of your God יהוה.

You sulked in your tents and said, “It is out of hatred for us that יהוה brought us out of the land of Egypt, to hand us over to the Amorites to wipe us out.

D'varim (1:25-27)

What caught my eye is the use of the word "you" because Moshe is addressing the new

generation. The older generation, those who said we won't go into the land, have all died out in the desert. So, why the "you?" Moshe is reminding them of what their parents did. The “you sulked” language is not directed at them personally, but at their predecessors, whose lack of faith shaped Israel’s trajectory and became a lesson for the future. While the younger generation does not have the trauma and history of slavery, they could still be influenced by their families. Moshe is giving one last push of a reminder of how NOT to behave. So, playing on the word YOU to EWE to Sheep to lamb, I suggest making Lamb Kafta Kabobs. Great for summer on the grill!

Shabbat Shalom & B'Tayavon!