How Do You Write a D’rash? A Bible Study
Studied with Parashat Devarim, where Moshe begins “to declare this law” (Deuteronomy 1:5), and Parashat Ha’azinu, where he prays his teaching will fall like rain (Deuteronomy 32:2). Six short parts, each ending with a quick quiz and questions for reflection, then an FAQ and review questions. Part of our free B’nei Mitzvah self-study lessons.
Quick answer: A d’rash is a short teaching, about three to five minutes, on your Torah portion. Read your portion, find one good question, search for the answer in the text and the commentaries, connect it to Yeshua and to your own life, and say it simply and clearly. Moshe, Ezra and Yeshua all explained the Torah to the people this way.
Studying on your own?
Read each part, take the quizzes, and answer the reflection questions and the review questions at the end. Have a question? Book a private guidance session with your Rabbi or Morah on Zoom by texting (469) 608-9944. See the fees.
Why write a d’rash?
At your bar or bat mitzvah you will not only read the Torah; you will also explain it. Your d’rash shows the community that you have studied your portion, thought about it, and taken it to heart. It is often the part of the day that families remember most.
Who is this lesson for?
This lesson is for boys and girls preparing for Bar or Bat Mitzvah, for adults preparing a teaching for their ceremony, and for anyone who wants to share a word of Torah at the Shabbat table.
The lesson has six parts. Each part ends with a quick quiz and questions for personal reflection or to talk over as a family. Part 4 has a step-by-step outline, and Part 5 has a sample d’rash.
| Part | Question | Main texts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | What is a d’rash? | Ezra 7:10; Pirkei Avot 5:22 |
| 2 | Who gave the first d’rash? | Deuteronomy 1:1–5; Nehemiah 8:8; Luke 4:21; Acts 13:15 |
| 3 | How do you find your message? | Deuteronomy 1:2; 32:2; Matthew 4 |
| 4 | How do you write it? | An outline |
| 5 | What does one sound like? | Deuteronomy 1:2–3, 1:32; Matthew 4:4 |
| 6 | How do you give it? | Deuteronomy 32:1–2 |
What is a d’rash?
Quick answer: A short teaching on the Torah portion. The word means “search.” You search the text with questions, find a lesson, and share it.
A d’rash (דְּרָשׁ) is a short teaching about the Torah portion. The word comes from darash, “to seek” or “to search.” A d’rash is what you find when you search the Torah with questions and come back to share it.
“For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of Hashem, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.”
The Hebrew word for “seek” in this verse is lidrosh, from the same root. Notice Ezra’s order: first seek, then do, then teach. A good d’rash comes from someone who is trying to live what they teach.
Plain meaning and deeper meaning
Jewish tradition reads the Torah on more than one level. The peshat is the plain meaning: what the words say and what happened. The derash is the searched-out meaning: the lesson for us, found by asking questions and connecting verses. A good d’rash always starts from the peshat and never contradicts it.
The Mishnah says, “Turn it and turn it, for everything is in it” (Pirkei Avot 5:22). The Torah is like a gem: each time you turn it, light comes through a new side.
Quick quiz: Part 1
Pick the best answer for each question. You will see right away if you got it right, and your score when you have answered them all. To try again, press Start over.
Your answers and score are saved on this device only, so they will be here when you come back. Press Start over to clear them.
Reflection
- Ezra sought, did, then taught. Why does the doing come before the teaching?
- Think of a Bible story you know well. What is its plain meaning, and what lesson might it hold for you?
Who gave the first d’rash?
Quick answer: Moshe, in the book of Devarim, where he “began to declare this law.” Ezra, Yeshua and Shaul all explained the Torah to the people after it was read.
The whole book of Devarim (Deuteronomy) is one long teaching by Moshe at the end of his life. He retells Israel’s story and explains the Torah to a new generation about to enter the Land.
- Moshe explains. “On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law” (Deuteronomy 1:5). The Hebrew word be’er means to make clear or explain. That is the job of every d’rash.
- The man who couldn’t speak. Forty years earlier Moshe told God, “I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue” (Exodus 4:10). Now Devarim opens, “These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel” (Deuteronomy 1:1). The sages noticed this and taught that the Torah made him a speaker (Devarim Rabbah 1:1). If you are nervous about speaking, you are in good company.
- Ezra gave the sense. The Levites “read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading” (Nehemiah 8:8).
- Yeshua’s d’rash. After reading from Isaiah in Natzeret, Yeshua sat down and began: “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21). One sentence, and everyone was listening.
- A word of exhortation. After the reading of the Torah and the Prophets, the synagogue leaders asked Shaul, “if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on” (Acts 13:15). A d’rash is exactly that: a word of encouragement from the reading.
Quick quiz: Part 2
Pick the best answer for each question. You will see right away if you got it right, and your score when you have answered them all. To try again, press Start over.
Your answers and score are saved on this device only, so they will be here when you come back. Press Start over to clear them.
Reflection
- Moshe was once “slow of speech” but ended up giving the longest speech in the Torah. What does that tell you about your own fears?
- Read Deuteronomy 1:1–8. If you had to explain these verses to a younger brother or sister, what would you say?
How do you find the message of your Torah portion?
Quick answer: Read slowly and ask questions: what is strange, repeated, missing or pictured? Choose one question, then search the text and the commentaries for the answer.
Every good d’rash starts with a good question. Read your portion slowly and notice what makes you stop and wonder. Here are the kinds of questions that open up a text:
| Kind of question | Example from Devarim and Ha’azinu |
|---|---|
| Something strange. Why is this detail here? | Why does Deuteronomy 1:2 say the trip from Horeb takes only eleven days, when Israel took forty years? |
| Something repeated. Why does a word keep coming back? | Moshe keeps saying “remember” and “do not forget” (Deuteronomy 8:2, 8:11, 8:18). Why? |
| Something missing. What does the text not tell us? | In the retelling of the spies, what does Moshe leave out? |
| A picture. What does an image teach? | Ha’azinu says God’s teaching falls like rain and dew (Deuteronomy 32:2). How is teaching like rain? |
| A connection. Where else does this show up? | Yeshua quoted Deuteronomy three times when he was tested in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1–11). |
Tools for searching
- Read in English first, then look at key words in Hebrew.
- Read the commentaries. Rashi, the most famous Jewish commentator, explains the plain meaning verse by verse. You can read him in English on Sefaria.
- Look for the Brit Hadashah connection. Many Torah verses are quoted or explained in the Gospels and the letters. A cross-reference Bible helps.
- Ask a parent or teacher. Talk over your question with someone at home, or bring it to a guidance session with your Rabbi or Morah.
Choose one idea. A d’rash is not a summary of the whole portion. Pick one question and one answer, and go deep instead of wide.
Quick quiz: Part 3
Pick the best answer for each question. You will see right away if you got it right, and your score when you have answered them all. To try again, press Start over.
Your answers and score are saved on this device only, so they will be here when you come back. Press Start over to clear them.
Reflection
- Read the first chapter of your own Torah portion. Write down three questions that make you wonder.
- Which of your three questions excites you most? Why?
How do you write a d’rash, step by step?
Quick answer: Opening, a short summary, your question, the answer with sources, the Yeshua connection, what it means for you, thank-yous, and a closing.
Once you have your question and your answer, writing is the easy part. Follow this outline. A d’rash for a bar or bat mitzvah is usually three to five minutes long, about 400 to 600 words.
- Opening. Greet the congregation (“Shabbat shalom!”) and say the name of your portion.
- A short summary. Two or three sentences on what happens in the portion. Not more.
- Your question. Ask it clearly, so everyone is wondering with you.
- The answer. Share what you found, and name your sources: a verse, Rashi, the sages, the Brit Hadashah.
- The Yeshua connection. Where does your idea meet Yeshua’s life or teaching? Keep it close to the text.
- What it means for me. How does this lesson change the way you live as you become bar or bat mitzvah?
- Thank-yous. Keep them short and real: parents, family, teachers, and the community.
- Closing. End with a verse or a blessing, and “Shabbat shalom.”
Before you call it finished
- Read it aloud and time it.
- Check every verse you quote against the Bible.
- Cut anything that does not help your one main idea.
- Ask a parent to read it, and go over it in a guidance session if you would like a teacher’s help.
Quick quiz: Part 4
Pick the best answer for each question. You will see right away if you got it right, and your score when you have answered them all. To try again, press Start over.
Your answers and score are saved on this device only, so they will be here when you come back. Press Start over to clear them.
Reflection
- Who do you want to thank in your d’rash, and what would you say to them in one sentence each?
- How might the lesson of your portion change the way you act at home or at school?
What does a good d’rash sound like?
Quick answer: Here is a sample on Parashat Devarim: one question, one answer from the text, a real Yeshua connection, and a personal lesson.
Here is a short sample d’rash on Parashat Devarim, about 300 words. Notice how it follows the outline from Part 4: opening, summary, question, answer, Yeshua connection, what it means for me, thank-yous, closing.
Shabbat shalom! My Torah portion is Devarim, the first portion in the book of Deuteronomy. In it, Moshe stands by the Jordan River and reminds Israel of everything that happened on their journey from Egypt.
Right at the beginning there is a strange little verse. Deuteronomy 1:2 says, “There are eleven days’ journey from Horeb… unto Kadeshbarnea.” And the very next verse says it was “the fortieth year.” So my question is: why did an eleven-day trip take forty years?
The answer is in the rest of the portion. When Israel reached the edge of the Land, they listened to the scary report of the spies instead of trusting Hashem. Moshe says, “Yet in this thing ye did not believe Hashem your God” (Deuteronomy 1:32). The road was short. Their trust was even shorter. So they walked in circles until a new generation was ready.
Many years later, Yeshua was led into the wilderness for forty days. Each time he was tested, he answered with a verse from this very book, Deuteronomy: “Man shall not live by bread alone” (Matthew 4:4, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3). Where Israel stumbled in the wilderness, he trusted, and he showed us how.
Here is what this means for me. Becoming bat mitzvah is a journey too. Sometimes I take the long way because I am scared, or I listen to the wrong voices. I want to be like the new generation that trusted Hashem and walked in. When I am afraid, I want to answer with the Torah, the way Yeshua did.
I want to thank my parents for driving me around in circles to all my lessons, which, unlike Israel, took less than forty years. Thank you to my Rabbi and Morah for helping me, and to all of you for being here.
Shabbat shalom!
What makes it work? It asks one clear question from one strange verse. It answers from the portion itself. It connects to Yeshua with a real quotation, not a guess. It ends with a personal lesson. And it uses a little humor without making fun of anyone.
Quick quiz: Part 5
Pick the best answer for each question. You will see right away if you got it right, and your score when you have answered them all. To try again, press Start over.
Your answers and score are saved on this device only, so they will be here when you come back. Press Start over to clear them.
Reflection
- Find each step of the outline in the sample d’rash. Which part is strongest? Which could be better?
- Is there a “long way around” in your own life right now? What would it look like to trust Hashem and take the shorter road?
How do you give your d’rash with confidence?
Quick answer: Practice out loud, print it big, slow down, look up, and speak like gentle rain: simply and from the heart.
Parashat Ha’azinu is a song Moshe taught Israel just before he died. Its first verses are a perfect guide for anyone who speaks in front of others.
“Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass.”
Be like rain, not a flood. Gentle rain soaks in. A flood washes everything away. Speak slowly and simply, so your words can sink in.
- Practice out loud at least five times, once in front of your family.
- Print it big, in a large font with space between lines, so you can find your place.
- Slow down. Nervous speakers rush. Pause after your question and after each verse.
- Look up. Glance at your listeners at the end of each paragraph.
- Stand tall and breathe. Take one slow breath before you begin.
- Mean it. You do not have to be perfect. Speak about something you care about, and people will listen.
Speaking on Zoom? If your ceremony is on Zoom, look at the camera, not the screen, when you look up, and check your sound and light beforehand.
Quick quiz: Part 6
Pick the best answer for each question. You will see right away if you got it right, and your score when you have answered them all. To try again, press Start over.
Your answers and score are saved on this device only, so they will be here when you come back. Press Start over to clear them.
Reflection
- What is your biggest worry about speaking in front of the congregation? What could help?
- Moshe asked heaven and earth to listen. Who do you most hope will really hear your d’rash?
Frequently asked questions
What is a d’rash at a bar or bat mitzvah?
A d’rash (also called a d’var Torah) is a short speech in which the young person explains a lesson from their Torah portion and what it means to them. It is usually three to five minutes long.
How long should a d’rash be?
For a bar or bat mitzvah, about three to five minutes, or 400 to 600 words. A short d’rash with one clear idea is better than a long one with many.
What is the difference between a d’rash and a d’var Torah?
They are almost the same. D’var Torah means “a word of Torah,” any short teaching on the Torah. D’rash comes from “to search” and stresses finding a lesson beneath the surface.
What should a d’rash include?
An opening, a short summary of the portion, one question, the answer with sources, a connection to Yeshua, what it means for your life, short thank-yous, and a closing blessing.
Can a parent help write the d’rash?
A parent can ask good questions, listen and give feedback, but the ideas and words should be the student’s own. That is what makes it meaningful.
Where can I find commentaries on my Torah portion?
Rashi and many other classic commentaries are free in English on Sefaria. You can also read our Torah portion pages on this site and bring questions to a guidance session with your Rabbi or Morah.
Review questions
After working through this lesson, you should be able to plan and write your own d’rash. These questions will help.
- What does the word d’rash mean, and what is the difference between peshat and derash?
- What three things did Ezra do, in order, according to Ezra 7:10?
- Name four kinds of questions that open up a Torah text.
- List the eight steps of the d’rash outline.
- What does Deuteronomy 32:2 teach about how to speak?
Your d’rash does not have to be brilliant. It has to be yours: one honest question, searched out in the Torah, and shared with love.
Sources
- Exodus 4:10; Deuteronomy 1:1–5, 1:32, 8:2–18, 32:1–2; Ezra 7:10; Nehemiah 8:8; Matthew 4:1–11; Luke 4:21; Acts 13:15 (King James Version)
- Pirkei Avot 5:22 (“Turn it and turn it”): Sefaria
- Devarim Rabbah 1:1 (Moshe, once “slow of speech”): Sefaria
- Rashi’s commentary on the Torah, in Hebrew and English: Sefaria
Scripture quotations follow the King James Version, with Hashem for the Divine Name (LORD), Hebrew names such as Shaul (Paul), and Yeshua for Jesus. Rabbinic sources are given in short translation or paraphrase. Part of the Bar & Bat Mitzvah training at Benei Avraham; see our Statement of Faith.