The following are my notes and observations of Devarim.
A Judge of Stature
לֹֽא־תַכִּ֨ירוּ פָנִ֜ים בַּמִּשְׁפָּ֗ט כַּקָּטֹ֤ן כַּגָּדֹל֙ תִּשְׁמָע֔וּן לֹ֤א תָג֨וּרוּ֙ מִפְּנֵי־אִ֔ישׁ כִּ֥י הַמִּשְׁפָּ֖ט לֵֽאלֹהִ֣ים ה֑וּא וְהַדָּבָר֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִקְשֶׁ֣ה מִכֶּ֔ם תַּקְרִב֥וּן אֵלַ֖י וּשְׁמַעְתִּֽיו
You shall not favor persons in judgment; [rather] you shall hear the small just as the great; you shall not fear any man, for the judgment is upon the Lord, and the case that is too difficult for you, bring to me, and I will hear it." (Deuteronomy 1:17)
Rashi explains this verse as follows:
לא תכירו פנים במשפט: זה הממונה להושיב הדיינין, שלא יאמר איש פלוני נאה או גבור, אושיבנו דיין, איש פלוני קרובי, אושיבנו דיין בעיר, והוא אינו בקי בדינין נמצא מחייב את הזכאי ומזכה את החייב. מעלה אני על מי שמנהו כאילו הכיר פנים בדין:
You shall not favor persons in judgment: This refers to the person who appoints judges, that he should not say, “So-and-so is handsome or strong; I will appoint him as a judge” [or] “So-and-so is my relative; I will appoint him as a judge in the city,” even if he is not expert in the laws, and consequently he condemns the innocent and acquits the guilty. [God says:] I will hold it against the one who appointed him [this judge] as though he [himself] had shown partiality in judgment (Sifrei).
The following is a short story called Appearance and Worth from the book Touching Heaven Touching Earth; Hassidic Humor and Wit published by Sadan Publishing House Ltd. in 1976.
The members of a certain town came to the Rabbi of Wischnitz and asked him to recommend one of his best students so that they could appoint him as the rabbi of their community. He did so, recommending to them a student who was an outstanding scholar and a person of exemplary character. However, when they were shown the candidate, they turned him down because he was very short and frail. In their opinion, they informed the Rabbi, the spiritual leader of their community should be a man of impressive appearance, tall in stature, and broadly built.
The rabbi of Wischnitz listened quietly to their complaint, and then said: "I have another candidate who I feel sure is just suited to your requirements," and he gave them the name and address of a man who lived in an adjoining town.
The men at once left for that town, but when they traced the address, it transpired that the Rabbi had sent them - to the local butcher.
Present Your Case
The same verse gives us insight into the way God, Who is a Judge, "hears cases:"
לֹֽא־תַכִּ֨ירוּ פָנִ֜ים בַּמִּשְׁפָּ֗ט כַּקָּטֹ֤ן כַּגָּדֹל֙ תִּשְׁמָע֔וּן לֹ֤א תָג֨וּרוּ֙ מִפְּנֵי־אִ֔ישׁ כִּ֥י הַמִּשְׁפָּ֖ט לֵֽאלֹהִ֣ים ה֑וּא וְהַדָּבָר֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִקְשֶׁ֣ה מִכֶּ֔ם תַּקְרִב֥וּן אֵלַ֖י וּשְׁמַעְתִּֽיו
You shall not favor persons in judgment; [rather] you shall hear the small just as the great; you shall not fear any man, for the judgment is upon the Lord, and the case that is too difficult for you, bring to Me, and I will hear it."
If something is too difficult, either a commandment or an experience, "bring [it] to Me, and I will hear it." This approach is referenced in Psalms 145:18 (Ashrei):
.קָרוֹב יהוה לְכָל קֹרְאָיו, לְכֹל אֲשֶׁר יִקְרָאֻהוּ בֶאֱמֶת
The Lord is near to all who call Him, to all who call Him with sincerity.
Exaggerations Along the Way
Deuteronomy 1:19 says the following:וַנִּסַּ֣ע מֵֽחֹרֵ֗ב וַנֵּ֡לֶךְ אֵ֣ת כָּל־הַמִּדְבָּ֣ר הַגָּדוֹל֩ וְהַנּוֹרָ֨א הַה֜וּא אֲשֶׁ֣ר רְאִיתֶ֗ם דֶּ֚רֶךְ הַ֣ר הָֽאֱמֹרִ֔י כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוָּ֛ה יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ אֹתָ֑נוּ וַנָּבֹ֕א עַ֖ד קָדֵ֥שׁ בַּרְנֵֽעַ:
And we journeyed from Horeb and went through all that great and fearful desert, which you saw, by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the Lord, our God, commanded us; and we came up to Kadesh barnea.
Rashi explains this verse as follows:
המדבר הגדול והנורא: שהיו בו נחשים כקורות, ועקרבים כקשתות
...[that] great and fearful desert: [It is termed fearful] because in it were serpents as [thick as] beams and scorpions as [big as] bows (Sifrei).
Rashi explains verse 1:28 as follows:
ערים גדולות ובצורות בשמים: דברו הכתובים לשון הבאי:
The cities are great and fortified up to the heavens: The Scriptural text here is talking in exaggerated terms (Sifrei; Chullin 90b).
This may be related to the general manner in which the spies exaggerated about the size of the people they observed in Israel during their reconnaissance mission:
וְשָׁ֣ם רָאִ֗ינוּ אֶת־הַנְּפִילִ֛ים בְּנֵ֥י עֲנָ֖ק מִן־הַנְּפִלִ֑ים וַנְּהִ֤י בְעֵינֵ֨ינוּ֙ כַּֽחֲגָבִ֔ים וְכֵ֥ן הָיִ֖ינוּ בְּעֵֽינֵיהֶֽ
There we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, descended from the giants. In our eyes, we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we were in their eyes. (Numbers 13:33)
The difference between these verses is that the Jews considered themselves small, and everything else to be big. These are not contradictory because if you think that you are small, everything else seems big.
Yehoshua's Inheritance Not Mentioned
אִזֽוּלָתִ֞י כָּלֵ֤ב בֶּן־יְפֻנֶּה֙ ה֣וּא יִרְאֶ֔נָּה וְלֽוֹ־אֶתֵּ֧ן אֶת־הָאָ֛רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר דָּֽרַךְ־בָּ֖הּ וּלְבָנָ֑יו יַ֕עַן אֲשֶׁ֥ר מִלֵּ֖א אַֽחֲרֵ֥י יְהֹוָֽה:
...except Caleb the son of Jephunneh he will see it, and I will give him the land he trod upon, and to his children, because he has completely followed the Lord."
Why does this verse omit Jehoshua bin Nun, who along with Caleb spoke positively about Eretz Israel? Could it be that because Yehoshua was Moshe Rabbeinu's successor, and that his teacher was prohibited from entering Eretz Israel, that God showed him respect by not mentioning Yehoshua's inheritance?
Shortness of Breath
וָֽאֲדַבֵּ֥ר אֲלֵיכֶ֖ם וְלֹ֣א שְׁמַעְתֶּ֑ם וַתַּמְרוּ֙ אֶת־פִּ֣י יְהֹוָ֔ה וַתָּזִ֖דוּ וַתַּֽעֲל֥וּ הָהָֽרָה
So I spoke to you, but you did not listen, and you rebelled against the command of the Lord, and you acted wickedly and went up to the mountain.
This verse seems similar to the following:
וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר משֶׁ֛ה כֵּ֖ן אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְלֹ֤א שָֽׁמְעוּ֙ אֶל־משֶׁ֔ה מִקֹּ֣צֶר ר֔וּחַ וּמֵֽעֲבֹדָ֖ה קָשָֽׁה
Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel, but they did not hearken to Moses because of [their] shortness of breath and because of [their] hard labor.
Could it be that they were in the same state of mind as they were while in Egypt due to shortness of breath - קֹּ֣צֶר ר֔וּחַ) in both of these times? My father once suggested that the complaints of the Jews in the desert were actually a good sign. Even though it would have been better for them to accept their struggles without complaining, it was nevertheless an indication that they, perhaps for the first time, had reached the stage that they were able to focus on their future instead of their past. They complained given their uncertainties about the future, which although not perfect, was a sign that their minds had become uprooted from their slave mentality.
Rashi explains "shortness of breath" as follows (Exodus 6:9):
מקצר רוח: כל מי שהוא מיצר, רוחו ונשימתו קצרה ואינו יכול להאריך בנשימתו
...because of [their] shortness of breath: Whoever is under stress, his wind and his breath are short, and he cannot take a deep breath.
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