As we read this first portion of Devarim, a reminder about what is surely one of the most confused, misused, and misunderstood concepts in Torah, that of being the "chosen people."
One thing we learn is certainly is what it is not. It is not a signifier that G-d only cares about the Jewish people, and all other peoples are left to their own devices. In fact, we learn that G-d had a direct hand in moving around the inhabitants of those who Israel is not to battle to provoke - namely, the Esavim and the Ammanites, who displaced the peoples before them. We are told quite explicitly that just as G-d gave them this inheritance, G-d also gave the Land of Israel to Bnei Yisrael - the exact same language is used.
This means that, of course, the Hand of G-d is involved in the lives of every single individual, guiding them here and there, staying here and moving there, both on a lifelong level and on an every minute level. And that our encounters - more than just keeping it in mind for our own lives and the personal meaning we can attribute to each and every circumstance - mean that we should also attribute our presence and our actions and words in the presence of others as divinely influencing their life as well.
All working as part of the divinity of everyday creation - which is life.
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