Uniting Heaven and Earth

As they stand at the threshold of entering the Land of Israel, the Jews must learn how to assimilate and integrate these lessons. But how are they to accomplish this seemingly impossible task, when until now they studied Torah in the desert, far removed from “real” life? Theirs was a life of monasticism — of learning Torah in spiritual seclusion — what they lacked was a living Torah. That’s where Devarim comes in. It will ultimately bridge the seemingly unbridgeable gap between the spiritual and the physical. While the previous four books are ascribed to G-d alone, the authorship of Devarim is attributed to Moshe. Yet a fundamental pillar of Judaism is that all five books of the Torah are of Divine origin.