DEUTERONOMY XXXII:1-XXXIV:12
THE DEATH OF MOSES
The last 8 verses of the Torah tell the process of Moses’ death. “And he buried him in the depression of the land of Mo’av, opposite Beit P’or, and to this day no one knows the place of his burial,” reads the biblical text.
Who buried Moses? Apparently, God took care of the burial and the lack of mention of the specific place of his burial was probably intended to prevent this site from becoming a place of veneration. For it is not the figure of Moses that should be remembered above all else, but the teaching he left, the content of the Torah that was communicated to him directly by God. Therefore, the text of the Torah has greater sanctity than the other books of the Tanach.
Moses transcribed what God spoke with him Panim el Panim, “face to face“—dictated to him. Although there are those who believe that Moses himself, inspired by God, wrote the last lines of the Torah that describe his death and burial. According to the Talmud the last verses were written by Joshua, Moses‘ successorin the leadership of the people.
Joshua wrote the Book of Tanach that bears his name and the last 8 verses of the Torah, as stated by the Talmud on 2 occasions. Therefore, these verses do not have the same category as the rest of the Torah text. They form a separate unit that must be read in its entirety. The reading should not be divided among several people.
The Talmud also mentions that Yachid Koreh, the individual can read these verses without the presence of a Minyan, according to Rambam. This rule serves to differentiate their degree of holiness from the rest of the Torah. Perhaps these verses correspond to the transition to the time of Joshua, who will begin the conquest of the Promised Land, where all the precepts contained in the Torah can be fully fulfilled.
Thus, the period of Moses ends, to begin a new stage in the history of the Jewish people. It should be noted that these chapters are not read on a Shabbat like the other weekly portions. In Israel there is an exception, when Shemini Atseret coincides with Shabbat. Moreover, its reading on Simchat Torah, outside Israel, as well as on Shemini Atseret in Israel, is followed by the reading of the first chapter of Bereshit. The reason for not assigning a specific Shabbat to the public reading of Vezot HaBerachah isperhaps due to the desire not to identify one day with the conclusion of the Torah, a text that is inexhaustible. Each reading allows for a new understanding of man’s nature and relationship to God.
Those who maintain that Moses also wrote the last lines of the Torah possibly want to convey the idea that, nevertheless, the content of these verses, the teacher of the Hebrew people did not die. At least he did not depart from this world in the same way as other mortal beings.
According to the Midrash, Moses’ deathoccurred with a kiss from God, which drew out his Neshama, his soul. Since philosophically it is difficult for the person to prove his own existence, perhaps it can be appreciated through the influence that the individual exerts on others.
In the annals of the history of the Jewish people no person can compare to him, as the text “Velo kam navi od beIsrael” says, no messenger of God was ever the equal of Moses. His teachings and admonitions are still valid, including those called Halacha leMoshe MiSinai, the rules that were not written in the text, but that Mosesmanaged to transmit verbally to his faithful disciples, a fact that was repeated through the ages.
Moses was the teacher of the Hebrew people, but what really made him Rebbe, a very special teacher, was the fact that he had Talmidim, disciples who to this day follow his instructions and live according to the Mitsvot that he transmitted directly according to God’s Will and that are forever recorded in the Torah.
