Parashat Devarim and the Giants

Rephaim were people of enormous stature.

Niddah 61a
The Gemara cites another case of a report that caused concern. Before the battle against Og, king of Bashan, it is stated: “And the Lord said to Moses: Do not fear him; for I have delivered him into your hand, and all his people, and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon” (Numbers 21:34). The Gemara asks: Now, Sihon and Og were brothers, as the Master said: Sihon and Og were sons of Ahijah, son of Shamhazai. In what way is Sihon different from Og, that God found it necessary to warn Moses not to be afraid of Og, and in what way is Og different from Sihon, that there was no need for a warning not to be afraid of Sihon? Rabbi Yoḥanan says that Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai says: From the answer that God gave to that righteous one, Moses, you know what was in his heart, i.e., what gave Moses cause to fear. Moses said to himself: Perhaps the merit of our forefather Abraham will stand for Og and save him. Og was the one who told Abraham that Lot had been taken captive by the four kings, enabling Abraham to rescue Lot. The Gemara cites the source of this claim. As it is stated: “And there came one that was saved, and told Abram the Hebrew, now he dwelt by the terebinths of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshkol, and brother of Aner; and these were confederate with Abram. And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan” (Genesis 14:13–14). And Rabbi Yoḥanan said that the term “one that was saved” is referring to Og, who was saved from the punishment of the generation of the flood. For this reason, Moses was more afraid of Og.

The Book of Legends 27:123
As the floodwaters swelled, Og, king of Bashan, sat himself on one of the rungs of the ark's ladders and swore to Noah and to his sons that he would be their slave forever. What did Noah do? He punched a hole in the ark, and through it he handed out food to Og every day. Og's survival is intimated in the verse "Only Og remained of the remnant of the Raphaim." (Deut 3:11).

The Book of Legends 39:39, based on Gen Rabbah 53:10, Deut Rabbah 1:25
"And Abraham made a great feast" (Gen 21:8). R. Judah bar R. Simon said: Not "a great feast" but a feast for great personages.-- Og and all other great ones like him were there. At that time Og was asked, "Did you not use to say 'Abraham is like a barren mule and cannot beget a child?" Nevertheless, when Og looked at Isaac, he was able to reply, "So this gift is given to Abraham-- what's it worth? Is not the creature a puny thing? Were I to put my finger upon him, I could crush him." The Holy One said to Og "How dare you belittle my gift!? As you live you will see thousands of myriads issue from his children's children." And it was at the hands o Isaac's descendants that this evil man [Og] was to fall."

Malcolm Gladwell, David and Goliath, p.5-8
"Giants are not what we think they are. The same qualities that appear to give them strength are often the sources of great weakness. And the fact that being an underdog can change people in ways that we often fail to appreciate: it can open doors and create opportunities and educate and enlighten and make possible what might otherwise have seemed unthinkable. We need a better guide to facing giants--and there is no better place to start that journey than with the epic confrontation between David and Goliath....
When Goliath shouted out to the Israelites, he was asking for what was known as "single combat." This was common practice in the ancient world. Two sides in a conflict would seek to avoid the heavy bloodshed of open battle by choosing one warrior to represent each in a duel....
This is what Goliath was expecting- a warrior like himself to come forward for hand-to-hand combat. It never occurred to him that the battle would be fought on anything but those terms, and he prepared accordingly. To protect himself against blows to the body, he wore an elaborate tunic made up o hundreds of overlapping bronze fishlike scales. It covered his arms and reached to his knees and probably weighed more than a hundred pounds....He wore a heavy helmet. He held a thrusting javelin made entirely of bronze, which was capable of penetrating a shield or even armor...Can you see why no Israelite would come forward to fight Goliath?
Then David appears. Saul tries to give him his own sword and armor so that at least he'll have a fighting chance. David refuses "I cannot walk in these," he says, "for I am unused to it." Instead, he reaches down and picks up five smooth stones, and puts them in his shoulder bag. Then he descends to the valley, carrying his shepherd's staff. Goliath looks at the boy coming toward him and is insulted. He was expecting to do battle with a seasoned warrior. Instead, he sees a shepherd-- a boy from one of the lowliest of all professions--who seems to want to use his shepherd's staff as a cudgel against Goliath's sword...
What happens next is a matter of legend. David puts one of his stones into the leather pouch of a sling fires at Goliath's exposed forehead. Goliath falls, stunned. David runs toward him, seizes the giant's sword and cuts off his head...."

Rabbi Elaine Zecher, sefaria.org/sheets/266090.21?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en
Goliath laughed and mocked David when he saw him advance with only a slingshot in his hand. David could have taken one look at the giant and thought, “He is so big, how could I win?” Instead David recalibrated, “he is so big, how can I miss?” One rock in a slingshot; the rest is history. And a message for the future.
David came running toward Goliath, powered by courage, ingenuity, and faith (2) with an innovative strategy to face his adversary. Goliath couldn’t comprehend that his view of the world had been shattered and it hit him right between the eyes.
Perhaps, we think our present and the future is some big Goliath staring us down with heavy armor. And we feel initially as vulnerable as David appeared. But the story of David offers us a new perspective. What drove David was the security he knew he already had to defend his people and to step forward.
Armed with faith, ingenuity, and the courage to address the challenges before us, we can defeat any goliath.