Vayeylech

Moses, in one of his last talks to the Jewish people sings a song that is both lyrical and enigmatic. One statement stands out among them all. Moses claims that now that he is aged, one hundred-twenty years old!, that he can no longer come or go" (Deut. 31:2). An admission of his waning strength Moses confesses to his people, in effect, that his bones ache and his joints no longer function as they used to. He is old, tired. Not much later the Torah informs us that “Moses was 120 years old when he died; his eye was not dim, and his force was not abated" (Deut. 34:7). How can Moses be at once old and ailing and vital and energetic on the other?

There is a powerful lesson here about self-deprecation verses revealing the shortcomings of others. I have no doubt Moses was full of fatigue and weary from many life-long struggles. He lived through tumultuous and painful times. Orphaned in a reed basket, Moses knew the courts of Pharaoh. He lost all that royalty in a pique of righteous indignation. The king-cum-shepherd was then coerced into becoming the great liberator of his people only to endure hardship and trial through the next forty years. No wonder he was tired!

Yet, it is not fitting for others to tell how weak the aged leader had become. It serves no good purpose to degrade another human being even if we are just agreeing with them! Lashon ha-ra, is often translated as gossip. But what if the lashon ha-ra is really true? Said for no reason other than idle chatter such statements are inflammatory and evil. Lashon ha-ra does not have to be a lie. It may be true! Its truth or falsehood is irrelevant to the fact that negative statements about another person should not be uttered.

Rashi explains that he means: he is no longer was able to maneuver in Torah. In other words, the wellsprings of Torah have been closed to him.

In addition to the physical fatigue and strain that Moses felt was also a sudden shift in leadership. The transfer of the mantle of leadership from Moses to Joshua was also happening now. The appointed successor to Moses was carefully instructed and trained and then brought into his new position to ensure a seamless transition. That could not have been easy for Moses.

Rashi, in fact, makes mention of the pain that Moses must have felt when Joshua moved into his place. He informs us that the Lord had also begin to transition from one leader to the next. Rashi is relying on an ancient midrash.

The Yalkut Shimoni cites: Moses went to visit Joshua in his tent. Joshua peered out from the folds of his home, saw Moses coming and ran out to greet him. Together they went to the Tent of Meeting. In the past the Holy One, blessed be He, would reveal to His faithful servant what needed to be done. On this occasion, Moses walked to the left of his servant, Joshua. This was sign that Moses was moving away from his key post.

When the two arrived at the Tent of Meeting the Shechina fell not on Moses, but Joshua. When the Will of the Lord was revealed to Joshua the two men exited together. Moses inquired, "What did the Lord God tell you?" Joshua replied that just as he did not share with him what God had said to him, Joshua would observe the same silence.

Moses was aghast, horrified. With this one exclusion, Moses felt his world begin to collapse all around him. For Moses this was the moment when age crushed his spirit like nothing else in all his years. The pangs of being left out and jealousy overwhelmed Moses. It was, he claimed, worse than one hundred deaths!
The feelings of another human being- even if we view them as steely characters with no signs of aging or cracks are all vulnerable.

Perhaps it is important to read this parasha as the New Year dawns and as we get ready to approach our Maker and ask forgiveness. It all begins with sensitivity.


Haftara Insight:
This is Shabbat Shuva. We are directed by Hosea to return to God, reform our behavior and ask the Lord for forgiveness. Wedged between Rosh Hashanna and Yom Kippur we are told to become introspective and assess who, or what, we have become. Hosea furthers this idea by warning us not to place our trust in the powers other than the One. God alone is the source of our salvation.
A Matter of Law:The mitzvah of writing a sefer Torah appears in this parasha. While most of us are unqualified to write a Torah we are still obligated to do so through the hands of others.
30:1-2 is not a done-deal. Teshuva is a force that moves earth and heaven The power of repentance redeems and even potentially changes the course of history.