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The Torah informs us that our leaders need wisdom. Knowledge was not a prerequisite since people with knowledge but no wisdom make bad judgements. But people with wisdom know how to apply knowledge.

When Moses is recounting the wars that we had to fight he points out that we went to war to defend our people and mission. We do not go to war to conquer others. We try for peace.

Moses’s recounting of the events after the Exodus is meant to remind us of our mission, which is to serve God on both a religious and moral level. He reminds us that without one the other does not work.

The bad report of the emissaries was on the 9th of Av. God declared that since we cried about nothing on that day we would have something to cry about in the future.

The Book of Deuteronomy is Moses going over the history of the Jews after leaving Egypt. He especially warns the Jews what will happen if they do not follow the laws in the Torah.

When an accidental killing occurs then the one responsible has to go to a city of refuge until the death of the High Priest. The reason, if the High Priest had done his job correctly then the accidental killing would not have occurred.

When the tribes of Reuben & Gad state that they will assist in conquering the Land but first they have to take care of their livestock and families, Moses reverses the order to show that families come first even before business.

The division of the Land takes place before the Jews get there. This is to teach us that before we embark on change, we have to have a plan what that change will bring.

Reuven, Gad & half of Menasha agree to help the Jews conquer the land before they tend to their lands east of the Jordan. We learn that sometimes we have to put our personal needs aside for society.

The command to kill all the people of Midian seems strange to us until we realize that the entire society was evil. The Torah commands us to destroy evil. No nuance in this case.