An Eternal Blessing
D’var Torah for
Parashat V’zot Habracha
By Rabbi Boaz D.
Heilman
As Moses stands on the top of Mount Nebo, he knows he has
reached the end of his road. From this
mountaintop—the last he will ever climb—he has looked over the Promised Land
and seen it from end to end. Elated by
what he sees, no matter what mixed feelings he might have harbored in his heart
a moment ago, knowing that he himself will not enter the Land with his people,
Moses turns to the people and blesses them one last time.
Along with the terrain of Israel, he has also seen the
future of his people, and it is a blessed one.
He knows he must be leaving them, but he is not abandoning them. He has given them God’s word—the Torah, and
he knows that from that moment on, for as long as they carry that Law with
them, Israel will be blessed by God.
In Deuteronomy chapter 33:2, Moses declares that with God’s
right arm, God has brought the Israelites “a fiery law.” It was Moses who first transmitted God’s
words to us. It was he who transformed
the awesome “fire” of the law into a torch with which to illuminate humanity. It is the mitzvot—God’s
sacred Commandments—which, now and for the many millennia to come, will light
up our darkest nights. Indeed, from that
moment on, for centuries, Jews have been studying these laws and interpreting
them for the times and lands in which they lived. We
acknowledge Moses’s role in giving them the Torah: “Torah
tziva lanu Moshe” (“Moses commanded the torah for us, a heritage of the
Congregation of Jacob”)—Deut. 33:4.
It is this knowledge—that, on every Simchat Torah for
thousands of years, the Children of Israel will be chanting this very verse as
they march around their shuls, temple
and sanctuaries carrying Torahs, flags, apples
and candles—which consoles Moses at these last moments of his life. He has done his job, and done it well. Now someone else must pick up the torch and
light up the future with it.
In wonderful counterpoint to the first Song of Moses (known
as the Song of the Sea, sung by Moses and Miriam immediately following the
parting of the Red Sea), Moses, his soul elated and jubilant, calls out “mi chamocha ‘am”, “Who is like you, O
people whose salvation is through Adonai!”
Mi chamocha—who is like
you: Not God, but rather, O people! The light of God has been ignited inside our
souls and will burn forever more, making us a unique people in all history.
For all western civilization throughout the ages, it has
been the Torah which elevated our people, and through us, all humanity. Its stories have moved us, exalted us, given
us purpose and meaning. Its commandments
have shaped our identity, tradition and history. It is this future which Moses sees from the
peak of Mount Nebo. It is no longer with
fear, frustration or anger with which he can face his own ending, but rather with
confidence and certainty. For this
ending brings with it a whole new beginning.
V’zot hab’racha—“This
Is the Blessing”—is the last portion in the Torah (Deut. 33:1-34:12). It is read this week, but on Simchat Torah,
its last few words will be immediately followed by the chanting of the first
few verses of the book of Genesis. At
that moment, we will begin the Torah once again, for all its stories, legends,
morals and lessons. It is indeed a never
ending blessing, for which we are truly and eternally grateful.
Chazak chazak v’nit-chazek—be
strong, be of strength and courage, and we shall all be strengthened.
©2012
by Boaz D. Heilman
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