Illustration credit: Noa Kelner
כִּי הַמִּצְוָה הַזֹּאת אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם
לֹא נִפְלֵאת הִוא מִמְּךָ וְלֹא רְחֹקָה הִוא׃
לֹא בַשָּׁמַיִם הִוא לֵאמֹר מִי יַעֲלֶה לָּנוּ הַשָּׁמַיְמָה וְיִקָּחֶהָ לָּנוּ וְיַשְׁמִעֵנוּ אֹתָהּ וְנַעֲשֶׂנָּה׃
וְלֹא מֵעֵבֶר לַיָּם הִוא לֵאמֹר מִי יַעֲבׇר לָנוּ אֶל עֵבֶר הַיָּם וְיִקָּחֶהָ לָּנוּ וְיַשְׁמִעֵנוּ אֹתָהּ וְנַעֲשֶׂנָּה׃
כִּי קָרוֹב אֵלֶיךָ הַדָּבָר מְאֹד בְּפִיךָ וּבִלְבָבְךָ לַעֲשֹׂתוֹ׃
This mitzvah which I am commanding you this day is not too mysterious for you, and it’s not far away.
It’s not in heaven that you should say, “Who can go up to heaven and get it for us and teach it to us so that we may do it?”
It’s not across the sea that you should say, “Who can cross the sea and get it for us and teach it to us so that we may do it?”
Rather, it is very close to you—in your mouth and in your heart—to do it.
- What do you notice? What do you wonder about?
- What repetitions can you find?
- What do you think “this mitzvah” is talking about? Can you find evidence from other pesukim in our parashah?
- Some people think it means: all of Torah and mitzvot. Why is it important for us to learn that all of Torah is close to us? Why is this mindset helpful?
- What could it mean to have Torah “in your mouth and in your heart”? How are these similar, and how are they different?
- Have you ever felt that something was difficult to achieve, but then realized that it was actually within your reach?
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