As we begin Sefer Devarim, Moshe Rabbeinu opens his final address to Bnei Yisrael with a recounting of their journey, their failures, and their destiny. The parsha begins, “Eileh hadevarim asher diber Moshe”— "These are the words that Moshe spoke." The Midrash notes the irony: the man once described as “כבד פה וכבד לשון” now delivers an eloquent, searing rebuke. But these are not just words of rebuke—they are words of love, guidance, and vision. Words that are meant to shape the people before they enter the land.

This Shabbat is always the Shabbat Chazon, the Shabbat before Tisha B’Av, named after the haunting prophecy of Yeshayahu: “Chazon Yeshayahu…” Words again—this time words of warning, of tragedy, of unfulfilled potential.

How did we lose the Beit HaMikdash? Chazal teach that it was destroyed because of baseless hatred, but also because of how we spoke to one another, how we judged one another, how careless we were with words. The gemara says that one of the causes of destruction was lashon hara and poor interpersonal behavior. The power of speech—to build or destroy—is a core theme connecting Devarim and Tisha B’Av.

As zman comes to an end and students head into summer, there is a temptation to turn off the intensity, to pause our spiritual ambitions. But the lesson of Parshat Devarim is that our words and our choices matter most when no one is watching—when we're between destinations, in moments of transition. Moshe’s speech happened not in the thick of battle or in the Beit Midrash, but in the wilderness—just before a major shift.

Summer, too, is a “midbar”—an unstructured space. But midbar is also the place of matan Torah. It can either be a place of stagnation or one of revelation. The choice to maximize that potential is ours.

Let us leave this yeshiva year with “devarim”—words of purpose, commitment, and growth. Let us mourn the destruction of what was lost while recommitting ourselves to rebuilding. And let us use this summer not as a break from growth, but as a bridge toward becoming the people Moshe envisioned, and the builders of the next Beit HaMikdash.

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