Parshat Vezot Haberacha: Vital Endings

Abstract

At this time of the year, we are usually gearing up for a joyous celebration; we've finally reached the end of a month of holidays and the completion of the Torah cycle. When we conclude the Torah reading, we also invite a level of sadness as we read about the very private death and burial of Moses. As a nation, we could not, at that point, imagine a successor or even the next phase of our lives in the Promised Land. Although Joshua had already been appointed, the process of succession is rarely smooth, especially after a very long tenure. The people mourned Moses for a full thirty days.