As the Parasha Begins, Moses Tells the People That He Is Now 120 Years Old and He Will Not Cross Over the Jordan River with Them
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Shabbat October 5, 2019 Vayelech - Torah Reading Deuteronomy 31:1 – 31:30 As the parasha begins, Moses tells the people that he is now 120 years old and he will not cross over the Jordan River with them. He is to die where they are and Joshua will now lead them. Tradition tells us that Moses died on his birthday, that he was exactly 120 years old. This tradition comes from the fact that he says ben meah v’esrim shanah hayom – I am 120 years old today. Earlier in Torah we see people living for hundreds of years – Methuselah at 969 years is the oldest. Tradition says that after Moses no one lives beyond 120, so in wishing someone a long life we wish them to live until that age. An old joke tells of someone wishing his very difficult neighbor “May you live to 119.” Then he turns to the neighbor’s wife and says “May you live to 120!” “Why 120 for her and 119 for me?” the husband asks. “She should have one good year,” is the reply. Moses goes on to tell the people Chizku v’Imtzu – be strong and courageous – which he then says in singular form – Chazak v’Emetz – to Joshua. They will need strength and courage for the battles ahead, but he assures them that G-d will not abandon them. He instructs them to read haTorah hazot – this Torah, generally understood to mean the book of Deuteronomy – to all the people every seven years at Sukkot. G-d then tells Moses that the people will violate the commandments once they are in the land and be punished. G-d instructs Moses to write a song about the coming rebellion and teach it to the people. Next week’s parasha, Haazinu, opens with Moses’ song. Depending on the year, Vayelech is sometimes read by itself and sometimes as a combined parasha with Nitzavim, last week’s reading. This year it is read by itself and even congregations that go by triennial cycle read the whole parasha both last week and this week. Both of them are particularly short weekly readings, not easily divided into smaller portions. Haftarah Shabbat Shuvah Hosea 14:2-14:10 Micah 7:18-20 Joel 2:15- 27 The Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is called “Shabbat Shuvah” – the Sabbath of Return. It is considered prime time to repent of one’s errors in preparation for Yom Kippur. Traditionally it was only one of two Shabbatot on which the rabbi gave a sermon, although in modern times most rabbis give a Dvar Torah every Shabbat. There is a special haftarah for Shabbat Shuvah and it appropriately begins with the word “Shuva” – return. It says that Israel has sinned and must now ask forgiveness and return to the ways of G-d. The prophet promises that G-d is merciful and will forgive those who repent. The haftarah then switches to a selection from the prophet Micah. It is the text used at the Tashlich service, promising that G-d is forgiving. Sephardim stop there, but Ashkenazim continue with a text from the prophet Joel. It begins “Blow a shofar in Zion, have a holy fast, proclaim an assembly.” This sounds very appropriate to the High Holidays. Joel also continues by offering words assuring that G-d will forgive. It’s an unusual haftarah in that it has selections from three different prophets. In selecting verses for the haftarot, the rabbis sometimes skipped sections to put together a thematic reading, but they always stayed within the same book. However, the twelve Minor Prophets (“minor” meaning shorter works, not less important) were collectively considered one book, because their work all fit on one scroll. So although this haftarah comes from three different prophets, it was considered to be three selections from one book. .