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Vayeilech (and he went)
Deut 30:1-30
In Vayeilech, Moses tells the Jewish people: “I am one hundred and twenty years old** today and I can no longer go forth and come in.”
* He transfers leadership to Joshua and concludes the writing of the Torah in a scroll which he entrusts to the Levites for safekeeping in the Ark of the Covenant.
* The mitzvah of Hak’hel (to gather) is given: every seven years, during the festival of Sukkot, all of the Israelites should gather at the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and the king should read to them from the Torah.
* Vayeilech concludes with the prediction that the people of Israel will turn away from their covenant with God, causing God’s face to hide from them, but also with the promise that our descendants will not forget Torah.
Parasha Vayeilech is the shortest portion in the Torah, and often falls between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
Here is Moses, our greatest prophet, making his final promises. Moses tells the Israelites that there will be sad times of estrangement between the Jewish people and God, but that we or our children will come back, and the Torah will never be forgotten. Fittingly, this special Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur has two names: Shabbat Shuvah (Return!) and Shabbat Teshuva (Repent!) It's a time of deep and emotional review of past deeds, facing regrets and coming up with goals and strategies to do better.
** This is where the expression: “To 120!” comes from when Jews wish someone a happy birthday.
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