Each year on Simchat Torah a good friend of mine shouts out, “Maybe this is the year that Moses will make it into the Promised Land!” This Shabbat we commence our approach to Simchat Torah as we begin reading Sefer Devarim, the book of Deuteronomy, the last book of the Torah. Some might characterize the book of Deuteronomy and this week’s Torah reading, Devarim, as the beginning of the end of the Torah. How simple it would be to think of the Torah as a John Grisham novel, with a beginning, middle, and an end. Depending on one’s views, the Torah can be seen as a work of simplicity or of great complexity. How else to explain the repetitive nature of so many of the passages and narratives? The Torah, one of the most-read books year in and year out, is the only book that we complete and then almost in the same breath start all over again. The stories and very nature of the Torah don’t simply guide our lives; they transform us as individuals and as a community. Our understanding of words, verses, and the accounts change as we evolve as people. The Torah remains the same year after year; it is we who are the variables as our lives grow and change.