Devarim
- “I Am Not Able to Bear You Myself Alone”A chronicle of shared failureFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
- On Leadership and ResponsibilityMoses' Deuteronomy speech emphasizes a leader's responsibility even when he believes he acted correctlyFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
- “The Men of War”Moses calls the spies’ generation “the men of war,” hinting that their gravest sin was going to war against the LORD’s commandFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
- “Begin to Possess It, and Contend with Him in Battle”Ostensibly words of peace – in practice, provocationFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
Vaetchanan
- “Other Gods”The declarations of divine unity proclaim the LORD's superiority over other gods rather than denying their existenceFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
- “Thy Man-servant and Thy Maid-servant … as Well as Thou”The Sabbath, like the sabbatical and Jubilee years, expresses a social vision of equality between classesFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
- “That Thy Days May Be Long”To thrive and endure as a people on the land, Israel must build a moral society founded on the Ten CommandmentsFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
Reeh
- “Thou Shalt Not Seethe a Kid in Its Mother’s Milk”From the book “In Search of Lost Meaning”
- Priests and IsraelitesFrom the book “In Search of Lost Meaning”
- The Place“The place which the LORD shall choose,” rather than “has chosen,” expresses a long historical process requiring spiritual and national maturityFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
- “And This Is the Manner of the Release”In the plain meaning, releasing debts means postponing collection during the sabbatical year rather than canceling the debtFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
- “Thou Shalt Not Seethe a Kid in Its Mother’s Milk”Shavuot’s exceptional permission to bring leaven and honey does not permit violating the mother–offspring bond by cooking a kid in its mother’s milkFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
Shoftim
- Like All the Nations?The Torah portrays requesting a king as inappropriate and unnecessary, offering instead a weak, limited monarchyFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
- “Shall Not Rise Up” – “If … Rise Up”The Torah preserves the false-witness law’s principles while preventing its use on a single accuser’s testimonyFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
Ki Tetzei
- Thou Shalt Make Thee Twisted CordsDeuteronomy’s cords and Numbers’ fringes – between identity and holinessFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
- A Stubborn and Rebellious DaughterStoning in the slanderous-husband passage results from parents seeking to remove family disgrace, like the rebellious-son case, rather than an obligatory prosecutionFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
- All You Can EatAbundant vines in the Land of Israel allowed a custom of free eating, which the Torah limited proportionatelyFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
Ki Tavo
- “Thy King Whom Thou Shalt Set over Thee”The Torah’s criticism of requesting a king also appears in the first-fruits and curses passagesFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
- A Privileged PeopleThe commandments are a special privilege as well as a duty, expressing Israel’s holy standingFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
- Great Stones – Unhewn StonesThe great stones inscribed with Torah law represent human cultural achievement; the altar’s natural stones express closeness and intimacy with GodFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
- “And the LORD Shall Bring Thee Back into Egypt in Ships”A parallel in Isaiah suggests that the verse means the LORD will return Israel to Egypt in sorrowFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
Nitzavim
- “Him That Is Not Here”Moses emphasized that the Transjordanian tribes were included in the covenant although physically absent from the ceremony on Moab’s plainsFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
- The Watered and the ThirstyThe sinner’s formerly fertile land will join the thirsty land and become like it – he alone will sufferFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
- “The Word Is Very Nigh unto Thee”The Torah is very close to the people because, despite everything, Moses’ educational undertaking succeededFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”
