Parashat V’zot HaBrachah 5782

by Rabbi Margie Cella

This is the final parashah of the Torah. It is never read on Shabbat, only on Simchat Torah. It is a mirror image of Parashat Vayechi, the last Parashah at the end of the book of Bereshit. There, on his deathbed, Jacob blessed each of his sons, describing their distinguishing characteristics. Now, as the nation was poised to enter the promised land, each of those sons had grown into a full-fledged tribe. Moses blessed them once again, prophesizing about their future.  

Finally, Moses ascended Mt. Nebo, from which God showed him the land, and the areas which each tribe would settle and inherit. This, God told Moses, was the land that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; now their descendants stood on the brink of claiming it as their own, thanks to the leadership of Moses during the last forty years. 

The last eight verses of the Torah very poignantly describe the death of Moses, על-פי יה-וה, literally, “at the mouth of God.” Like Aaron before him, Moses’ death is described as a divine kiss. It was God as well that buried Moses on the mountain; to this day, we imitate God when we participate in the mitzvah of burying the dead at a funeral, shoveling the dirt onto the coffin. 

The Torah ends by telling us that there has never again risen a prophet of the stature of Moses in Israel. 

With this, we have reached the end of the Torah. Next week, we will begin again with Parashat Bereshit and the story of creation; I am handing off these weekly commentaries for Sefer Bereshit, the book of Genesis, to our Executive Director, Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields.

May the study of Torah continue to bring us new blessings and insights in the coming year. 

Chazki, chizki, v’nitchazek!