What is "devarim"

Devarim (דברים) is a Hebrew word, which is the last part of the second word (haDevarim) of the book of Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Torah (the first five books of the Tanach, or Hebrew Bible). It means "[The] Words".

When used as a noun, Devarim might refer to:

• The Hebrew title of the biblical Book of Deuteronomy
• Devarim (parsha), the 44th weekly parsha in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah readings
• Devarim Rabbah is the midrash about the Book of Deuteronomy
• Devarim Zutta is a midrash to Deuteronomy which is no longer extant

Devarim, D'varim, or Debarim ( — Hebrew for "words," the second word, and the first distinctive word, in the parashah) is the 44th weekly Torah portion (, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the first in the Book of Deuteronomy. It constitutes The parashah is made up of 5,972 Hebrew letters, 1,548 Hebrew words, and 105 verses, and can occupy about 197 lines in a Torah Scroll (, Sefer Torah).

Jews generally read it in July or August. It is always read on Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath directly before Tisha B'Av.

The parashah recounts how Moses appointed chiefs, the episode of the Twelve Spies, encounters with the Edomites and Ammonites, the conquest of Sihon and Og, and the assignment of land for the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh.