VaYelech
Deut.
31:1-31:30
Précis:
The Israelites are instructed to annihilate the seven Canaanite nations and
take possession of the Promised Land. The death of Moses approaches, and he
transfers his mantle of leadership to Joshua as his successor. Moses orders
regular reading of the Law, and then transfers the written Torah into the hands
of the Levites for safekeeping in the Ark of the Covenant.
Deut.
31:1-11 “Moses went and spoke these things to all Israel. He said to
them: I am now one hundred and twenty years old, I can no longer go out and
come in, for God has said to me, ‘You shall not cross this Jordan.’ ... ‘Joshua
is the one who shall cross before you, as Adonai has spoken….Be strong and
resolute’…Moses wrote down this Teaching and gave it to the priests, sons of
Levi, who carried the Ark of Adonai’s Covenant…and instructed them as follows: ‘When
all Israel comes to appear
before Adonai…you shall read this Teaching aloud in the presence of all Israel.’”
We read this parasha on Shabbat
Shuvah, the Sabbath between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, a time of intense
introspection. God has told Moses that his greatest desire, to enter the Land
at the head of the People, has been denied and that the leadership has been
transferred to a new generation and a new individual. Moses knows that he will
die without reaching the goal he has spent more than 40 years seeking. He
encourages his successor, and encourages the entire People to study Torah.
On Rosh Hashanah, we read the prayer “unitanef tokef” in which we ask,
painfully, who shall live and who shall die, who shall prosper and who shall not
prosper. It is a prayer which Moses did not need for himself, knowing full well
that at age 120, his life was about to end. He transfers leadership and he
imparts courage to all of the People,
As we approach the Day of Judgment, we can ask whether these 10 days of awe
provide sufficient time for us to really achieve t’shuvah – repentance – to avoid the “severe decree.” Yes, our
tradition says. “Be strong and resolute” in the eternal battle between good and
evil, between satisfaction and a resolve to live better, to love more, and to
live lives worth living in the year to come.
I extend my best wishes for a g’mar tov, a good and fitting
conclusion to your personal journey in this New Year.
