VEZOT HABERACHAH_DEUTERONOMY XXXIII – XXXIV

The last paragraphs of the Torah are read on the final days of the feast of Sukkot, days that our Chachamim qualify as a separate holiday. In Israel, the eighth day of Sukkot is celebrated under the name of Shemini Atseret, and in the Golah, the diaspora, an additional day is celebrated which is called Simchat Torah. This Day of Simchat Torah, which means “the joy of the Torah”, is selected to end the annual cycle of reading.

As the name implies, it is a time of joy and rejoicing for having finished the complete reading (study) of the Torah. The fact that a new period of reading, the following Shabbat, is beginning means that we believe that one never finishes studying the  Torah. Each additional reading serves for new learning, for a deeper understanding of this eternal message.

Our text reads: Torah tsivah lanu Mosheh, Morashah kehilat Yaacov, which means, Moses gave us the Law, a possession of the community of Yaacov. The word Morashah, comes from the same root as Yerushah, inheritance. Samson Raphael Hirsch emphasizes the fact that the word Morashah does not belong to the passive form of the verb. Morashah implies action. Therefore, the teaching is that the Torah is not acquired passively. The active study is required for its acquisition and possession.

The Midrash questions, why did God not deliver the Torah to the first Jew, to the patriarch Avraham? The answer offered is that the Torah containing six hundred thousand letters was bestowed upon the people when they had the same number of souls. Indeed, that was the number of adult men at the time of Yetsi’at Mitsrayim, the exodus from Egypt. This means that each member of the Jewish people of that time was entitled to a letter of the Torah.

The lesson that follows from this Midrash is that the Torah is not the possession or personal inheritance of a single individual, including the Adon hanevi’im, the Lord of the Prophets, Mosheh Rabbenu. The Torah is the treasure of the community, of all. Everyone has a “personal letter” to contribute to knowledge. The teaching and transmission of the wisdom contained in these Scrolls is the responsibility of each generation. So say the Chachamim: Kol hamone’a halachah mipi talmid ke’ilu gozlo minachalat avotav, which means “to hide a Torah Law from a disciple is equivalent to strip him of his ancestral heritage.

With his last breath, Moses blesses each of the tribes of Israel. Moses concludes his words by saying: Ashrecha Israel mi chamocha am nosha baShem, which means “blissful you are oh, Israel, who is like you, people saved by the Eternal?” The Jewish people are, Mi chamocha, a different people. Despite the famous monologue that Shakespeare puts in Shylock’s mouth, stating: When we are lacerated, do we not bleed? the story of Israel is the account of the exploits of the people who are “other”, who are distinguished by being a different people.

The Talmud and the Midrash contain various versions and accounts of Moses’ death. The angels refused to be the emissaries to take his Neshamah, his soul. God himself, then, snatched the Neshamah from Moses with a kiss. Moses was buried in an unknown place so that his tomb does not become a place of worship. Jewish tradition is very jealous of the monotheistic idea and does not allow a human being to be confused with divinity. But if you don’t know where the tomb is, who buried Moses?

According to one interpretation, God buried Moses. A second version states that Moses buried himself. The lesson is that Moses is not dead, in the ordinary sense of the word. The teaching of Moses remains in force to this day. Indeed, Lo kam navi od beIsrael keMosheh, since then, in the annals of our history a personality of equal spiritual strength did not emerge. Moses’ leadership was and is unique.

Careful study of the Torah text reveals a basic opposition to the absolute leadership of a human being. For example, in the case of the Melech Israel, the Torah conceives of the appointment of a king as a concession to the weakness of the people who wish to be like all nations. The Torah warns that the Melech will desire a harem, stables, silver, and gold in abundance, and all this will be obtained from the people. Notwithstanding the mentioned warnings, the Tanach relates that when the Philistines invaded Israel, the people demanded a king who could unify the Jewish forces to repel the incursion. Shaul was anointed by the prophet Shmuel as the first king to repel the invader.

But Shaul falls out of favor because he disobeys an essential instruction. David becomes the second king and has as his mission the unification of the scattered tribes into a single nation and thereby complete the conquest of the Promised Land. The fundamental purpose of the reign of the third king Salomonis was the construction of the Beit HaMikdash, the Jerusalem Temple. Each monarch had a specific goal to fulfill. However, there are major flaws in each of them. Some fail totally in their mission. The only leader par excellence is Moses. He had the powers and command of the Melech. The sin that prevents him from entering Erets Israel is a demonstration of his humanity. Otherwise, we might have confused him with divinity. Because, by definition, all humans commit errors.

Why is Moses’ leadership different? The kings of Israel had to write their own Torah Scroll in a demonstration that their mandate was constitutional, and they had to abide by the rules contained in these Sacred Scriptures, which served as a brake to their ambitions. It can be argued, perhaps, that the uniqueness of Moses’ leadership lies in his intellectual faculties. The people follow Moses’ instructions as disciples who follow the teacher’s arguments and convincing explanations. The strength of Moses’ leadership also lies in the monumental spiritual characteristic of his personality and, of course, in his role as a teacher.

Under what name do we usually know Moses? The immediate answer is Mosheh Rabbenu, which means our teacher Moses. This type of leadership is not unconditional and can be confronted with other intellectual arguments. And this is a characteristic of the Geist of our people, which consists in questioning everything, including events and people. On the other hand, the acceptance of reasoned leadership is entirely voluntary, because it is based on the recognition of high intellect and impeccable moral conduct.

Intellectual leadership survives the individual because it is based on ideas and not on a dominant personality. Caesars and Atlas, Napoleons, and Stalin’s increasingly belong to a distant historical legacy that tends to be of archaeological interest. On the other hand, leaders who espouse revolutionary concepts and new ideas that promote profound transformations in human society survive the transitory permanence in this world of their protagonists. Without a doubt, Moses is the human being who left the deepest mark on the intellectual and spiritual history of humanity. The Torah Scrolls are the testimony of the imposing personality of Mosheh Rabbenu, of his impact and validity for all generations. Including ours.