Sidrah
Parashah of the week: Vayelech
“Moses went and spoke these things to all Israel. He said to them: I am now one hundred and twenty years old, I can no longer go on” Deuteronomy 31:1-2
September 26, 2025 09:17
“Moses went and spoke these things to all Israel. He said to them: I am now one hundred and twenty years old, I can no longer go on” Deuteronomy 31:1-2
September 26, 2025 09:17It’s Shabbat Shuvah – the Shabbat of Repentance – and our days before Yom Kippur are slipping away. Very resonant therefore, is this week’s parashah, Vayelech, which describes Moses’s own time slipping away. For Moses the stakes are even higher – we approach Yom Hadin, the Day of Judgment, but Moses knows that his death is imminent.
So what did Moses do on his last day alive? Well, he began by teaching the final two mitzvot in the Torah - the commandment of hakhel - assembling all men, women and children, as well as "strangers” to hear the reading of the Torah - a truly inclusive mitzvah.
He went on to teach the 613th commandment - that each of us should write our own Torah (commentators later debate whether this means donating to have a Torah written, or somehow embodying the Torah with our actions.
But dig a little below the surface, and there’s more. On the opening words of the parashah, “Moses went”, our commentators ask where Moses went.
For Ramban, Moses went from the Levite camp to the Israelite camp to honour them, as one who approaches a dear friend to say goodbye. For Sforno, “Moses proceeded to comfort the people about his impending death”.
So, modelling ourselves on Moses, what should we do in these days approaching Yom Kippur?
We should begin, as Moses does, through teaching the mitzvah of hakhel, by gathering people for inclusive Jewish experiences. All ages and genders are included, but also the “strangers” – those who are usually on the edges of our community. As we approach Yom Kippur, are we true to our goals of inclusivity?
We should turn next to making the Torah personal to each of us: “write yourself a Torah”. As we approach Yom Kippur, how committed are each of us to finding the Torah which speaks to us?
And finally, like Moses, we should reconcile with the people around us – and not just those in our “camp”. Like Moses, we should make an effort to journey to each and every part of the community, ensuring that our relationships are loving to the last. As we approach Yom Kippur, are our relationships with those around us peaceful and kind?
May we all walk in Moses’s path over the coming days, and may we all be inscribed for life, happiness, health and fulfilment for the coming year.
Rabbi Lorie is rabbinical scholar for Jofa UK
Image: Moses before his death, 1907 (Wikimedia Commons)
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