All of you standing today... Lest one might say: Torah is only learned by the elders, or only by the greats, or only by the prophets. It says, "If you guard it," (Deut 11:22) tells us that all are equal in Torah. And thus it says, "Torah was commanded to us by Moses, the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob," (Deut 33:4). Priests, Levites, and Israelites, is not written here, rather, "the congregation of Jacob" And thus it says here, "All of you standing today."
Some of the great scholars in Israel were hewers of wood, some of them drawers of water, and some of them blind: nevertheless they engaged themselves in the study of the Torah by day and by night. Moreover, they are included among those who translated the tradition as it was transmitted from mouth of man to mouth of man, even from the mouth of Moses our Master.
Why do you think Maimonides (who wrote the Mishneh Torah, #3 above, mentions that some of the great sages of the Talmud were hewers of wood and drawers of water?
(13) I make this covenant, with its sanctions, not with you alone, (14) but both with those who are standing here with us this day before our God ה' and with those who are not with us here this day.
"Those who are not with us here this day" - to whom do you think this is referring?
In a very delicate way, the two parts of this verse get to the heart of what healthy religion is. On one hand, religion needs to be sufficiently open and revealing so that people understand what they are doing and why. To some extent, biblical religion was taking a stand against hidden knowledge in the human realm. Many ancient religious priesthoods derived much of their power by claiming secret knowledge that gave them access to the gods, knowledge that they would not share. Israelite religion, according to this verse, is revealed religion. The rules are known to all and the ability to live life in line with the will of God is available to all—the information is not in heaven and the commandments are “close by.”
https://www.thetorah.com/article/is-judaism-meant-to-have-exclusive-religious-secrets
הנסתרות לה' אלקינו.
ובסנהדרין מסיק למה נקוד לנו ולבנינו ועל עי"ן שבעד עולם שלא ענש על הנסתרות עד שעברו את הירדן פי' שאז קבלו התורה כאחד ונעשו ערבים זה לזה אז הנסתרות לנו ולבנינו.
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ובמסורת הגדולה שנינו דבעי על הנקודה הזאת דלנו ולבנינו למאי אתא. ומשני שכך אמר עזרא הסופר כשכתב בתורה אם יבא משה רבינו וישאל למה כתבת זה אומר לו לכך נקדתי עליהם ואם יאמר יפה כתבת אעביר הנקודה מעליהם משמע שהיה מסופק בנגלות אם הם לנו ולבנינו קודם שעברו ישראל את הירדן אם לאו ולפי' נקד עליהם. ומכאן קצת ראיה לאותם הכותבים פסוק בלא שרטוט שנוקדין על ב' תיבות קודם שיכתבו השלישי לפי שהנקודה כמחק מדקאמר עזרא לפיכך נקדתי עליהם והוי כאלו לא כתבתים:
הנסתרות לה' אלוקינו, “concealed acts concern the Lord our G–d”
The Talmud in tractate Sanhedrin, folio 43 points out that the dots above the letters לנו ולבנינו and above the letter ע of the word עד, are to inform us that as long as the Israelites had not crossed the river Jordan and been on sacred ground, G–d had not punished anyone for sins committed in private, not witnessed by even family members. The reason for this was that only after crossing the Jordan did the Jews accept the Torah individually and collectively, so that each Israelite became responsible also for the sins committed by his fellow Jew. At that point what is written the words לנו ולבנינו, “for us and our children,” became applicable....
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According to a text known as massoret hag’dolah, the dots are attributed to when Ezra had to rewrite the Torah after the redemption when different scrolls had variations in the text, and the time would come when Moses would challenge him why he had not done it differently, he would explain that because of his doubts he had placed the dots on top. If Moses would be satisfied with the way Ezra had done it, it would be easy to erase the dots without harming the text of the Torah scroll.
Deuteronomy... may well be the first book to pose the problem of modernity. Its authors struggled with issues conventionally viewed as exclusively modern ones, such as the historical distance between past and present, the tension between tradition and the needs of the contemporary generation, and the distinction between divine revelation and human interpretation.
Turning and Returning - Teshuvah Foretold
(א) וְהָיָה֩ כִֽי־יָבֹ֨אוּ עָלֶ֜יךָ כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה הַבְּרָכָה֙ וְהַקְּלָלָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָתַ֖תִּי לְפָנֶ֑יךָ וַהֲשֵׁבֹתָ֙ אֶל־לְבָבֶ֔ךָ בְּכׇ֨ל־הַגּוֹיִ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֧ר הִדִּיחֲךָ֛ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֖יךָ שָֽׁמָּה׃ (ב) וְשַׁבְתָּ֞ עַד־ה' אֱלֹקֶ֙יךָ֙ וְשָׁמַעְתָּ֣ בְקֹל֔וֹ כְּכֹ֛ל אֲשֶׁר־אָנֹכִ֥י מְצַוְּךָ֖ הַיּ֑וֹם אַתָּ֣ה וּבָנֶ֔יךָ בְּכׇל־לְבָבְךָ֖ וּבְכׇל־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃ (ג) וְשָׁ֨ב ה' אֱלֹקֶ֛יךָ אֶת־שְׁבוּתְךָ֖ וְרִחֲמֶ֑ךָ וְשָׁ֗ב וְקִבֶּצְךָ֙ מִכׇּל־הָ֣עַמִּ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֧ר הֱפִֽיצְךָ֛ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֖יךָ שָֽׁמָּה׃ (ד) אִם־יִהְיֶ֥ה נִֽדַּחֲךָ֖ בִּקְצֵ֣ה הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם מִשָּׁ֗ם יְקַבֶּצְךָ֙ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ וּמִשָּׁ֖ם יִקָּחֶֽךָ׃
(ה) וֶהֱבִיאֲךָ֞ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֗יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֛רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יָרְשׁ֥וּ אֲבֹתֶ֖יךָ וִֽירִשְׁתָּ֑הּ וְהֵיטִֽבְךָ֥ וְהִרְבְּךָ֖ מֵאֲבֹתֶֽיךָ׃ (ו) וּמָ֨ל ה' אֱלֹקֶ֛יךָ אֶת־לְבָבְךָ֖ וְאֶת־לְבַ֣ב זַרְעֶ֑ךָ לְאַהֲבָ֞ה אֶת־ה' אֱלֹקֶ֛יךָ בְּכׇל־לְבָבְךָ֥ וּבְכׇל־נַפְשְׁךָ֖ לְמַ֥עַן חַיֶּֽיךָ׃ (ז) וְנָתַן֙ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ אֵ֥ת כׇּל־הָאָל֖וֹת הָאֵ֑לֶּה עַל־אֹיְבֶ֥יךָ וְעַל־שֹׂנְאֶ֖יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר רְדָפֽוּךָ׃
(ח) וְאַתָּ֣ה תָשׁ֔וּב וְשָׁמַעְתָּ֖ בְּק֣וֹל ה' וְעָשִׂ֙יתָ֙ אֶת־כׇּל־מִצְוֺתָ֔יו אֲשֶׁ֛ר אָנֹכִ֥י מְצַוְּךָ֖ הַיּֽוֹם׃ (ט) וְהוֹתִֽירְךָ֩ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֜יךָ בְּכֹ֣ל ׀ מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה יָדֶ֗ךָ בִּפְרִ֨י בִטְנְךָ֜ וּבִפְרִ֧י בְהֶמְתְּךָ֛ וּבִפְרִ֥י אַדְמָתְךָ֖ לְטֹבָ֑ה כִּ֣י ׀ יָשׁ֣וּב ה' לָשׂ֤וּשׂ עָלֶ֙יךָ֙ לְט֔וֹב כַּאֲשֶׁר־שָׂ֖שׂ עַל־אֲבֹתֶֽיךָ׃ (י) כִּ֣י תִשְׁמַ֗ע בְּקוֹל֙ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ לִשְׁמֹ֤ר מִצְוֺתָיו֙ וְחֻקֹּתָ֔יו הַכְּתוּבָ֕ה בְּסֵ֥פֶר הַתּוֹרָ֖ה הַזֶּ֑ה כִּ֤י תָשׁוּב֙ אֶל־ה' אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ בְּכׇל־לְבָבְךָ֖ וּבְכׇל־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃ {ס}
(1) When all these things befall you—the blessing and the curse that I have set before you—and you return to your hearts amidst the various nations to which the Eternal your God has banished you, (2) and you return to the Eternal your God, and you and your children heed God's command with all your heart and soul, just as I enjoin upon you this day, (3) then the Eternal your God will restore your fortunes and take you back in love, bringing you together again from all the peoples where the Eternal your God has scattered you. (4) Even if you are scattered to the ends of the world, from there the Eternal your God will gather you, from there God will fetch you.
(5) And the Eternal your God will bring you to the land that your ancestors possessed, and you shall possess it; and God will make you more prosperous and more numerous than your ancestors. (6) Then the Eternal your God will open up your heart and the hearts of your offspring to love the Eternal your God with all your heart and soul, in order that you may live. (7) The Eternal your God will inflict all those curses upon the enemies and foes who persecuted you.
(8) You, however, will return and listen to the voice of the Eternal and obey all the commandments that I enjoin upon you this day. (9) And the Eternal your God will grant you abounding prosperity in all your undertakings, in the issue of your womb, the offspring of your cattle, and the produce of your soil. For the Eternal will return to delighting in your well-being, as God did in that of your ancestors, (10) since you will be heeding the Eternal your God and keeping the commandments and laws that are recorded in this book of the Teaching—once you return to the Eternal your God with all your heart and soul.
Romantic, Pithy, Aphoristic
(טו) רְאֵ֨ה נָתַ֤תִּי לְפָנֶ֙יךָ֙ הַיּ֔וֹם אֶת־הַֽחַיִּ֖ים וְאֶת־הַטּ֑וֹב וְאֶת־הַמָּ֖וֶת וְאֶת־הָרָֽע׃ (טז) אֲשֶׁ֨ר אָנֹכִ֣י מְצַוְּךָ֮ הַיּוֹם֒ לְאַהֲבָ֞ה אֶת־ה' אֱלֹקֶ֙יךָ֙ לָלֶ֣כֶת בִּדְרָכָ֔יו וְלִשְׁמֹ֛ר מִצְוֺתָ֥יו וְחֻקֹּתָ֖יו וּמִשְׁפָּטָ֑יו וְחָיִ֣יתָ וְרָבִ֔יתָ וּבֵֽרַכְךָ֙ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ בָּאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּ֥ה בָא־שָׁ֖מָּה לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃ (יז) וְאִם־יִפְנֶ֥ה לְבָבְךָ֖ וְלֹ֣א תִשְׁמָ֑ע וְנִדַּחְתָּ֗ וְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוִ֛יתָ לֵאלֹקִ֥ים אֲחֵרִ֖ים וַעֲבַדְתָּֽם׃ (יח) הִגַּ֤דְתִּי לָכֶם֙ הַיּ֔וֹם כִּ֥י אָבֹ֖ד תֹּאבֵד֑וּן לֹא־תַאֲרִיכֻ֤ן יָמִים֙ עַל־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר אַתָּ֤ה עֹבֵר֙ אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּ֔ן לָב֥וֹא שָׁ֖מָּה לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃ (יט) הַעִדֹ֨תִי בָכֶ֣ם הַיּוֹם֮ אֶת־הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם וְאֶת־הָאָ֒רֶץ֒ הַחַיִּ֤ים וְהַמָּ֙וֶת֙ נָתַ֣תִּי לְפָנֶ֔יךָ הַבְּרָכָ֖ה וְהַקְּלָלָ֑ה וּבָֽחַרְתָּ֙ בַּחַיִּ֔ים לְמַ֥עַן תִּֽחְיֶ֖ה אַתָּ֥ה וְזַרְעֶֽךָ׃
(15) See, I set before you this day life and prosperity, death and adversity. (16) For I command you this day, to love your God ה', to walk in God’s ways, and to keep God’s commandments, God’s laws, and God’s rules, that you may thrive and increase, and that your God ה' may bless you in the land that you are about to enter and possess. (17) But if your heart turns away and you give no heed, and are lured into the worship and service of other gods, (18) I declare to you this day that you shall certainly perish; you shall not long endure on the soil that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. (19) I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day: I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life, that you and your offspring will live.