There’s nothing quite like the feeling of anticipation and frustration that comes with waiting years for a new season of a TV show! Viewers spend hours of their lives becoming emotionally invested in the characters and storyline—only to be left without resolution and faced with a seemingly endless break, during which the details of the show begin to blur in our minds. If we’re lucky, the new season begins with a brief but comprehensive recap. After all, we need to remember where we’ve been before we can move forward.
This week, we begin our last book of the Torah and, though it hasn’t been long at all since we last read, we start with a recap. In fact, much of the early chapters of the book of Devarim are essentially: “Previously on the Israelite Sojourn in the Desert!” However, despite our close proximity to the rest of the book (after all, we never wait more than a year to start the whole series over), we need this refresher in order to make it to the end.
The end of the book of Devarim (spoiler alert!) sees Joshua and the Israelites ready to enter the Promised Land and step into their future. May we, too, remember where we come from so that we may advance to the next season—a season of peace and promise.