You have dwelt long enough on this mountain; turn, and take your journey (Deuteronomy 1:6)
Even though "this mountain" - Mount Sinai - was the place on which the Torah was given, the Jewish people were not allowed to linger and were commanded to continue on. This teaches that a person must not be content with his own service of G-d but must travel great distances, if need be, in order to bring the light of Torah to another Jew. (Likrat Shabbat)
And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren (Deuteronomy 1:16)
It is only during the present era, "at that time," that it is necessary to listen to both sides of a dispute to reach a just decision. When Moshiach comes and ushers in the Messianic era, judgment will be rendered through the sense of smell, as it states, "He will smell the fear of G-d, and he will not judge after the sight of his eyes and decide after the hearing of his ears." (Kedushat Levi)
Behold, I have set the land before you... to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give it to them (Deut. 1:8)
This verse does not say the land will be given "to you," but "to them"- Abraham, Issac and Jacob-an allusion to the resurrection of the dead. (Sanhedrin)
For unto Esau have I given Mount Seir as a possession (Deut. 2:5)
Although the Children of Israel fulfilled an express command of G-d when they took over the land Canaan, G-d warned them that their desire to conquer territory should not extend beyond those lands He had explicitly promised to them. (Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch)
May the L-rd G-d of your fathers make you a thousand times as many as you are (Deut. 1:11)
When will this blessing be fulfilled? In the World to Come, when, as the Prophet Isaiah states, "The least one shall become a thousand, and the smallest a great nation." The Jewish people, the "least" and "smallest," will multiply one thousand times in number, in fulfillment of Moses' blessing. (Binyan Ariel)
Reprinted from the Devorim 5762/2002 edition of L’Chaim.
