In Vayelech, Moses is nearing the end
of his life.
He does a few major things
before he dies, though:
First, he informs the Israelites
that he's not going to cross into Israel
with them – that, instead, Joshua will
lead them into the Promised Land.
Second, Moses tells Joshua to be strong
and to not be afraid, because God's
going to help him out.
Third, Moses writes this great Torah
and gives it to the Kohanim,
and gives it to the Kohanim, the holy priests
and keepers of the Tabernacle.
Moses declares that the Torah
should be read for all time...
to men, women, children,
and the stranger in our midst.
Talk about crossing your T's
and dotting your i's...
God then speaks to Moses and has him
bring in Joshua into their little conversation.
God appears in a pillar of smoke
and warns them both that the people
they have led this far will soon stray
from their covenant.
God instructs Moses to teach a special song
to the people which describes
how God brought them to the land
of milk and honey
and their subsequent straying.
Just in case you think "How nice! A song,"
just keep in mind: the song also contains
severe warnings of God's anger
at this disobedience.
Vayelech concludes with Moses
finishing up writing the Torah.
After this, he commands the kohanim
to place the Torah into the ark.
He then asks to speak to all of the elders
of Israel so that heaven and earth
can bear witness to his warnings.
The song is spoken into the ears of all Israel,
which continues in the next parsha, Haazinu.
Vayelech provides an opportunity
to explore our personal role in our faith.
How, you might ask, can a Torah portion
about Moses nearing death,
and singing songs,
specifically infuse
our responsibility to our people?
One of the things that the Torah does
in Vayelech is obligate each of us
to write our own Torah, just as God
instructed Moses to do.
Anyone who has ever seen a Torah scribe
knows that this is NOT something to do
between scrubbing the toilets,
working a 12 hour shift, or changing a diaper.
However, we CAN do two things:
First we can help sponsor
the writing of a Torah by a scribe, or sofer.
The chance comes up every now and then
in communities, synagogues, or even online,
to help write a letter,
or to help pay for the cost of a letter,
word, sentence, or parsha.
Sometimes you can choose a letter
that is relevant to you,
such as the first initial of your Hebrew name,
or part of your bar or bat mitzvah parsha.
Second, we can be the living embodiment
of the Torah.
This is kind of a big one.
In a way -- even though learning how to write
the precise letters of the Torah is difficult—
this is way harder.
What might being a living Torah look like?
Here are some ideas:
First, try integrating little bits of the Torah
into your life. For instance,
the Ten Commandments,
or resting on Shabbat.
Even speaking kindly to other people,
and respecting all people are parts of that.
Here's something you've
probably heard before: what you hate
being done to you,
do not do to another person.
This shows that you are a walking example
of the good intentions of our Torah.
Think of yourself as a walking, talking Torah;
what do you want others to see
when they look at you
walking down the street?
Do your actions say to people:
"I like the way she carries herself
and conducts business.
I wonder what her guidebook is?"
With the Torah as our guide,
we can be examples to others
by not gossiping,
being generous to those less fortunate
and seeking justice and pursuing it.
Vayelech shows us that
the road to happiness is paved with trees,
and those trees are the Torah,
always blooming and always branching out.
Only when we really learn to cling to it
can we become
the embodiment of the principles
and the beauty held inside its letters.
Producer: Sarah Lefton
Animation Director: Nick Fox-Gieg
Animation: Jeanne Stern
Editorial Director: Matthue Roth
G-dcast Theme Music: Tim Cosgrove
Written and Narrated by Mayim Bialik
Recording by Gregory Butler