Our Greatest Gift to God

The Shulhan Arukh records that certain parshiyot of the Torah always precede specific festivals—with one notable exception: Tisha b’Av:

One always reads [Parshat] Tzav before Pesah in a regular year, and [Parshat] Metzorah in an intercalated year; and one always reads Parshat Bemidbar before Atzeret (Shavuot); Tisha b’Av precedes [Parshat] Vaetchanan; [Parshat] Nitzavim precedes Rosh Hashanah… Tzumu v’tzalu (fast and [then] pray) …” (Orah Hayyim 428:4)

The ruling regarding Tisha b’Av states that Parshat Vaetchanan follows Tisha b’Av because it opens with Moshe’s prayer to God, pleading to enter the Land. In this way, it underscores that tefillah (prayer) is an appropriate and enduring response to national tragedy and destruction.

This choice is somewhat surprising, considering that many people associate Tisha b’Av with the preceding parasha, Devarim, which contains Moshe’s reproof (tokhakha) and the verse that begins with the word “eikha”, evocative of the opening of the Book of Eikha (Lamentations). (See Be’er Halakha, s.v. Tisha b’Av Kodem)

However, a fascinating and relatively unknown midrash preserved in the Sefardic version of Devarim Rabbah (also known as the Lieberman edition) offers an alternative, and perhaps deeper rationale:

Said Rabbi Levi: One should take care in the recitation of the Shema, for it is equivalent to all of the sacrifices. Just as the sacrifices were offered in the morning and the afternoon (bein ha’arbayim), so too the Shema is recited in the morning and in the evening, as it is written: “when you lie down and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:7). You should engage with it constantly, as it is written: “Let not this book of the Torah cease from your lips” (Joshua 1:8); therefore: “Hear O Israel…” (Deuteronomy 6:4). (Devarim Rabbah, Vaetchanan, Lieberman ed., p. 63)

This midrash is unique in its association of the Shema with the sacrificial order. The connection between the Korban Tamid—the daily offerings that began and ended the Temple service—and the Amidah (Shemoneh Esrei) is well established in rabbinic tradition. The Amidah consists of bakashot (requests) and expressions of gratitude, framing our relationship with God in terms of human need.

But linking the Shema to the sacrificial order conveys a very different message. Here, the Shema becomes a free-will declaration of emunah (faith), detached from any request—an offering of pure love and loyalty to God.

But Kriyat Shema is much more than just a declaration of faith. The midrash reminds us that, at its core, the Shema also represents the most fundamental and sincere expression of Torah study. And for the rabbinic Jew, Torah study is itself a substitute for Temple sacrifice, the central mode of worship that was lost with the Temple’s destruction.

And so, with these ideas in mind, it is entirely fitting that Parshat Vaetchanan follows Tisha b’Av. This parasha offers not only Moshe’s heartfelt prayer but also the defining affirmation of the Jewish people and their eternal bond with God: Shema Yisrael. In the face of loss, destruction, and exile, Parshat Vaetchanan teaches that faith, prayer, study, and devotion are the enduring foundations of Jewish survival. These are the pillars that ensure the continuity of the Jewish people through every generation.