"Today I am one hundred and twenty years old. I can no longer go or come."
(Deuteronomy 31:2)
Tishrei 5, 5779/September 14, 2018
"Today I am one hundred and twenty years old. I can no longer go or come, and HaShem said to me, 'You shall not cross this Jordan.'" (Deuteronomy 31:2) Parashat Vayelech opens as Moshe rabbenu announces to the children of Israel that his life is coming to a close. Tradition maintains that the final four Torah readings of the book of Deuteronomy were all spoken by Moshe on the final day of his life. Knowing that this is his final day on earth, how does Moshespends his final twenty four hours? Does he sit contentedly in a rocking chair, his eyes perhaps misty as he reminisces one last time on past exploits? Does he make a few final corrections to his soon-to-be published memoir? No.
Moshe busies himself with what would be for the rest of us a superhuman effort to prepare his people for the change in leadership, to continue to deliver to them the message that G-d is communicating to him as he stands before the entire nation, and to the writing of the entire Torah, as G-d has just now commanded him to do. And, finally, he is about to begin writing a song, a poem of testimony, also according to G-d's instructions, as we are told, "And Moshe wrote this song on that day, and taught it to the children of Israel." (ibid 31:22) Knowing full well that the minutes of his life are ticking off, Moshe uses every nano-second in the service of his people and his G-d.
How would we spend our last day on earth, if we, in fact, knew that it was our last day? Well, in fact, we do know! Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which begins next Tuesday evening and concludes the following evening, marks for each and every one of us the final day of who we were, of who we have been, and of what we have, to this point, made of ourselves. But for us this is not the end of the road, but just the beginning! Yom Kippur, the day on which the story of our lives as we have been living them, for better (hopefully) or for worse (hopefully not) comes to a close, and a new chapter, containing all our hopes and aspirations of what we can be in the upcoming year, are written by our hand, delivered and sealed in the Book of Life that sits open before G-d on Yom Kippur.
"Today I am 354 days old, (the length of the Hebrew lunar year). I can no longer be the person I was in 5778 (the outgoing Hebrew year), but now must strive to become the person I need to be in the incoming year of 5779." When we internalize this message, and truly understand the opportunity that Yom Kippur affords us to renew ourselves and to better ourselves, then we, like Moshe, will utilize every moment of this monumental twenty five hour gift from G-d, (yes, Yom Kippur includes an extra hour), to recast our lives in the image in which G-d created and intended for us. Like Moshe, we re-ingrave the Torah upon our heart and write a song for ourselves, a testimony of who we will strive to be, free from the blemishes of the past, a year full of promise before us.
Last Shabbat we read parashat Nitzavim: "You are all standing this day before HaShem, your G-d." (Deut 29:9) On Rosh HaShana we all stood before G-d and acknowledged His supreme sovereignty over all. This week's parasha, Vayelech, opens us with the words, "And Moshe went - Vayelech Moshe."These are words of movement. Unlike Rosh HaShana, Yom Kippur is not a day for accepting and internalizing G-d's Kingship. It is not a day for standing in place. Yom Kippur is a day for moving, for shaking off the aspects of ourselves which have become old, and "can no longer go or come," can no longer propel us forward, and for grabbing hold of the personal, moral and spiritual qualities that we need to embrace in order to grow and move forward.
"And Moshe went - Vayelech Moshe." Torah doesn't inform us to where Moshewas going. It leaves the question unanswered. The Torah, from its first word to its last, is a book full of instruction and advice, straight from the mouth of G-d. But Torah cannot tell you or me the direction in which we are heading. That is for us to answer - on Yom Kippur!
Source: Temple institute
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