The Opening Verses of Sefer Devarim, and the Structure of the Sefer as a Whole

The Torah introduces Sefer Devarim by informing the reader that we are about to read Moshe's words as addressed to the nation of Israel in the land of Mo'av, close to the end of The Fortieth Year. No such introduction exists for any other Sefer, and this is an indication of the uniqueness of Sefer Devarim. The great majority of Devarim consists of a record of the speeches that Moshe delivers at the end of the desert journeying. Sefer Devarim includes almost no narration of events that happened to the nation or direct Divine commands. In this sense it is different from the other four Books of the Torah. This shiur will attempt to address the significance of these introductory verses and their connection to the structure and content of Sefer Devarim.