One permanent fixture in the Jewish calendar is that Parashat Devarim is always read on the Shabbat before Tisha B’Av. The most common reason for this occurrence is the linguistic connection with the book of Lamentations as the word “Eichah,” the title of the book, appears in Deuteronomy 1:12. Here, Moses rebukes the Israelites for their past transgressions. He reminds them of their past rebellions and the consequences they faced. He particularly highlights the sin of the spies delivering a false report in scouting the land of Canaan. According to rabbinic tradition as recounted in Mishnah Ta’anit 4:6, this tragic event took place on Tisha B’Av and consequently led to the decree of that generation of the Exodus to die in the wilderness and never enter the Holy Land.

The way Moses scolds the Israelites when revisiting this incident deserves examination. Moses recounts:

וַתִּקְרְבוּן אֵלַי כֻּלְּכֶם וַתֹּֽאמְרוּ נִשְׁלְחָה אֲנָשִׁים לְפָנֵינוּ
“You approached me, all of you, saying, ‘let us send men ahead of us to reconnoiter the land for us…’” (Deuteronomy 1:22).

In his commentary about the incident of the spies as retold by Moses, Rashi notices a particular word כֻּלְּכֶם “all of you.” He understands this to mean “all of you together in a hodgepodge.” Rashi explains his rationale for this interpretation by contrasting the wording in Deuteronomy 1:22 with a scenario in Deuteronomy 5:20 at Sinai when the people request Moses to be the intermediary between God and them in God’s revelation of the Torah. In Deuteronomy 5:20, it reads:

וַתִּקְרְבוּן אֵלַי כָּל־רָאשֵׁי שִׁבְטֵיכֶם וְזִקְנֵיכֶֽם
“You approached me, all the leaders of your tribes and your elders.”

In this instance, Rashi comments that when the Israelites wanted to modify the manner in which revelation transpired, the request for Moses’ intervention was done in an orderly manner. He cites Sifrei Devarim, a halakhic (legal) midrash on the book of Deuteronomy: “That was proper – the young people showed respect for the elders, letting them go ahead of them, and the elders showed respect for the leaders, letting them go ahead of them; but here you approached me, all of you, in a hodgepodge – the young pushing aside the elders, and the elders pushing aside the leaders” (Sifrei on Devarim 1:22).

An interesting corollary to Rashi’s observations is the fact that in Parashat Shelach Lecha where the original incident of the spies occurs, the enumeration of the spies is out of order. Unlike the ordinary enumeration of the tribes from oldest to youngest, the Torah begins by listing the first four tribes in order of birth, but then jumps to Ephraim, who was the youngest, then to Benjamin, and then back to Manasseh. Dan and Asher follow, and finally Naftali and Gad. That one is hard pressed to make some semblance of order out of this seeming hodgepodge of tribes only drives home the point that there simply was no order.

From the above analysis, it is clear that the juxtaposition of Parashat Devarim and Tisha B’Av is a deliberate one. In Moses’ rebuke of the Israelites for their past transgressions, the parashah mirrors the themesa of introspection and reflection associated with Tisha B'Av. Devarim’s emphasis on the consequences of sin and the need for repentance serves as a powerful introduction to the somber atmosphere of Tisha B'Av. It also serves as a catalyst for hope, the restoration of order from among the chaos, and a reminder of the ultimate goal of redemption.