Here’s a short article on this week’s Torah portion (i.e., the portion scheduled for Shabbat on August 9, 2025)—from a Christian perspective:

Embracing God’s Plea: 
Parashat Va’Etchanan (Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11)

This week’s Torah portion, Va’Etchanan, begins with Moses’s heartfelt plea for entry into the Promised Land—a land which he never sees. But don’t despair, because it transitions into powerful teachings that reach deeply into a believer’s theology.  Those two great commandments speak to us – the call to love God wholeheartedly and to love our neighbor!

God’s Mercy and Human Longing

Moses’s request to enter Canaan reflects a profound human longing for closeness with God—a yearning rooted in love, faithfulness, and dedication. Though God permits Moses to view the land from afar, this moment underscores the tension between human desire and divine sovereignty.

Love and Obedience at the Heart of Faith

In the verses that follow, Moses recounts the Shema (Deut. 6:4–5)—“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…” This foundational commandment resonates deeply within Christian faith, aligning with Jesus’s own teaching that “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). It reminds believers that true devotion flows from the heart and must permeate every dimension of our being.

Remembering and Teaching

Moses also instructs the Israelites to keep God’s commandments in their hearts, to teach them diligently to their children, and to speak of them in every facet of daily life—at home, on the road, lying down, and rising up (Deut. 6:6–7). For Christians, this mirrors the call to embed scriptural truths into our families, conversations, and routines—highlighting the importance of spiritual legacy and everyday discipleship.

A Call to Holistic Faith

Va’Etchanan weaves together longing, love, obedience, and transmission. From a Christian viewpoint, it invites us to reflect:

• Are our hearts fully devoted to God?
• Do we embrace obedience as a response to that love?
• How are we teaching faith to the next generation in tangible, consistent ways?

In Moses’s plea and God’s response, we see an invitation: to draw near through love and to live out that love in every moment—just as Jesus modeled.

Shabbat Shalom!

Pam