Dear Friends;

 

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

 

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

The Parsha recounts the events on Moshe’s last day of earthly life. “I am one hundred and twenty years old today,” he says to the people, “and I can no longer go forth and come in.” He transfers the leadership to Joshua, and writes the Torah in a scroll which he entrusts to the Levites for safekeeping in the Ark of the Covenant.

The mitzvah of Hak’hel (“Gather”) is given: every seven years, during the festival of Sukkot of the first year of the shemittah cycle, the entire people of Israel — men, women and children — should gather at the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, where the king should read to them from the Torah.

The Parsha concludes with the prediction that the people of Israel will turn away from their covenant with G-d causing Him to hide His face from them, but also with the promise that the words of the Torah “shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their descendants.

 

” Dvar Torah “

 

What would you do if you knew for a fact that today is the last day of your life and your body is still fully functional?

Would you go skydiving?

Would you finally try out some illegal substances, or do some immoral act which you never permitted yourself to do earlier in life?

Would you sit and count the minutes until the end?

Would you spend some quality time with your wife and children?

Would you hire a professional photographer to take pictures of you and your family in order to leave behind good memories?

Would you cry your eyes out in repentance in order to prepare yourself to embrace G-d?

So, what would you do?

Well, this is exactly what happened to Moshe in this week’s Parsha. Hashem tells him that the time has come for him to be gathered to his people on this day. Later on, the Torah says that his eyes did not dim and his body did not become weak till the end.

So, what did Moshe do on the last day of his life? Well, the Torah starts by telling us that  Vayelech Moshe – And Moshe went, and spoke these words to all Israel. And he said to them: “I am a hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no longer go out and come in, for Hashem has said to me, you shall not cross this Jordan.”

The commentators are puzzled by the use of the phrase “and Moshe went”?! The Torah could have easily said that Moshe gathered the people and spoke these words to them. Why the use of the extra phrase “and Moshe went”?! In fact, his “moving” action was so powerful that the parsha is named after it; “Vayelech– And he went”! And this was the only action recorded in the Parsha that Moshe did on the last day of his life —– and he went! So, where did Moshe go? And if he did go somewhere, why does the Torah keep us in suspense of his destination?!

As usual, I read a beautiful commentary given by Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky. He says that Moshe did not physically go anywhere. What the Torah is trying to emphasize is the fact that Moshe did not sit idle. Even on the last day of his life, he went, he moved, he inspired, he taught, he blessed and he accomplished. Although, on the last day of his life, he rightfully deserved to sit back and let others come to him in order to pay their final respect, but instead, he moved and he took the initial step. The same enthusiasm that Moshe had in leading his people through the desert for forty years; the same vigor He had when he stood in front of Pharaoh and demanded to “let my people go”; was still in him until the last moments of his life — until the very end. Moshe, just like our fathers, didn’t believe in retirement! While he could still move, he went forward and accomplished. There is no dying down when you are moving!!. And that’s why the Torah is so proud of his movement that it names the Parsha after it! Until the very end, Moshe never stopped — Moshe “went”!

Yes my friends, life is all about moving forward and improving ourselves because if we ever stop, we may fall back. Whether in business, relationship or spirituality, we need to have the enthusiasm to move forward and try to improve ourselves at all times. As we learn from the parsha, there is no limit or time frame for improvement. Moshe moved forward till the last second of his life. He utilized all of his time to fulfill the will of G-d and to improve his relationship with the Almighty. He never stopped! He never gave up! And this is the kind of “enthusiasm” that we need to learn from the greatest prophet of all times.

Rabbi Kamenetsky says that there is always room for improvements in all aspects of life, especially in relationships. For example, if you think that you’ve been married for more than 20 years and there is no way to improve your marital relationship, you are absolutely wrong. There is always room to love more, sacrifice more and to care more.

As we are approaching Yom Kippur, let us try to improve and accomplish more. Let us try to pray a little harder, let us have more courage to ask for forgiveness from everybody, and above all, let us find it in our hearts to forgive everyone else too! Let us move forward in our lives and don’t live in the past. Let us not hold any grudge against anyone and let us find a way to love everyone around us! Let us not sit idle! Let’s make a “move”!

Shabbat Shalom and Regards;

Martin