Parashat Va’etḥanan

August 8, 2025
14 Av 5785
Parashat Va'etchanan
Deuteronomy 3:23 - 7:11

Dear Friends,

Last week we observed the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, Tisha B’Av, and just one week later, on Tu B’Av, we celebrate “joyous love.” It is a dramatic shift — moving from deep mourning to an embrace of love and joy. Rabbi Kook seemed to live in this space of transition when he taught that we must move from baseless hatred to baseless love. It may feel like an impossible task, but it is a powerful reminder of what truly matters.

Love, in the end, is stronger than hate. This week’s Torah portion, Va’etḥanan (Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11), has Moses pleading with the people to stay the course and remember what they have learned along the way. Here, we receive the Ten Commandments once more and are given two core elements of our liturgy — the Sh’ma and the V’ahavta. In both, love is a central theme.

Although Tu B’Av is sometimes described as a kind of “Jewish Sadie Hawkins Day” — when women could choose their partners — its focus on joyous love draws us deeper, connecting us to the heart of this Torah portion. The root of the word “love” appears twenty-three times in Deuteronomy, the final book of the Torah.

On Tisha B’Av, we reflect on the cost of baseless hatred. But what, exactly, is Rav Kook asking us to learn from the idea of baseless love? Normally, the things we love are tied to our values, ideals, and shared visions. How can love be without a basis?

I believe Rav Kook is calling us to see each other in the fullness of the miracle of existence itself. Is that not what we strive for when we recite the Sh’ma with our whole being?

Love, in our tradition, is not the absence of boundaries. It is about commitment, structure, and the steady choice to act in ways that nurture connection. Our tradition teaches that it is our consistent behavior — our rituals, our daily acts of kindness — that make love possible.

May we be guided this week not only by words of love, but by the actions that give those words meaning.

Rabbi Linda Shriner-Cahn