IN A NUTSHELL
Vezot Haberakha is Moshe’s blessing to the Israelites, delivered on the last day of his life, tribe by tribe. The parasha ends emotionally with the story of the death and burial of Moshe. Moshe dies in the land of Moav, in an unknown location, so that “to this day no one knows his burial place” (Devarim 34:6). Hashem did not want his grave to become a place of pilgrimage and worship.
The very last verses of the Torah are a tribute to the greatest leader and prophet the Israelites ever had. The ultimate tribute the Torah gives Moshe is both simple and powerful. He was “the man Moshe” (Bemidbar 12:3), “the servant of the Lord” (Devarim 34:5). Vezot Haberakha is not read as an ordinary Shabbat portion, but instead we read it on the festival of Simḥat Torah. It is a powerful statement about mortality and what it means to be a human. The Moshe we encounter in the Torah is simply a human being made great by the task he was set to do and by his humility. He became the ultimate channel through whom the word and power of God flowed.
QUESTION TO PONDER
Does learning about the death of Moshe make him more inspiring or less inspiring as a leader?