As we enter the new year, we have finally arrived at V'Zot Habracha, the last parsha of the Torah. Moshe gives Bnei Yisrael his parting blessings before he dies at the age of 120. Near the end of the parsha, it is written that Bnei Yisrael cry over Moshe’s death:
וַיִּבְכּוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת-מֹשֶׁה בְּעַרְבֹת מוֹאָב, שְׁלֹשִׁים יוֹם; וַיִּתְּמוּ, יְמֵי בְכִי אֵבֶל מֹשֶׁה.וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן-נוּן, מָלֵא רוּחַ חָכְמָה--כִּי-סָמַךְ מֹשֶׁה אֶת-יָדָיו, עָלָיו; וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ אֵלָיו בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּעֲשׂוּ, כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהוָה אֶת-מֹשֶׁה
(דְּבָרִים לד: ט-י )
“And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; so the days of weeping in the mourning for Moses were ended. 9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him; and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses.” (Deuteronomy 34:8-9)i
Note that the period of mourning described here is over just as quickly as it started. Why would the Torah do this? Why would the mourning period for Moshe Rabbeinu end in less than one pasuk? The Torah usually has such high praise for Moshe, and notes a few verses later that there was never a prophet quite like him who had such a strong relationship with God. So couldn’t the Torah at least have waited until the next pasuk to say Bnei Yisrael`s mourning period ended? Doesn’t Moshe deserve more?
On this pasuk, R' Abraham ibn Ezra (Spain,1092 – 1167) comments:
“ויתמו - וכאשר תמו ימי בכי אבל משה שמה, שמעו בני ישראל אל יהושע”--“Once the days of mourning ended, then Bnei Yisrael listened to Yehoshua”ii I think Ibn Ezra is saying that Bnei Yisrael needed that time of mourning, but they also needed to move past it in order to listen to Yehoshua. Bnei Yisrael were only truly able to heed Yehoshua’s commands and guidance once they completed their mourning for Moshe and were ready to move on to the next stage of their journey.
Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno (Italy,1475-1550) also comments on pasuk 8, saying: “כי בימי הבכי אין חכמה ואין עצה ”--“Because during the days of mourning, there is no wisdom or advice.”iii Yehoshua was only filled with the divine spirit afterward, because he couldn’t have received it during the days of mourning. This could either have been because he himself couldn’t have handled it yet, or because the nation couldn’t. This could also simply be exemplary of the nature of mourning, that we’re not supposed to take in anything new during that time, but rather solely focus on the deceased.
Whatever the case may be, it seems clear that these commentators think the short time of mourning was exactly how it was meant to be. I think the Torah is coming to teach us a very important lesson here. Life isn’t always easy; loved ones die, someone loses a job, you fail a test (obviously not as drastic as someone dying…well, maybe for Hermione Granger it is), but I think the Torah is telling us here that we can’t stay down for too long. There is a time for mourning, but it doesn’t last forever. We can’t let the hardships in life stop us from getting up again and continuing on our journeys. Even when it came to Moshe Rabbeinu`s death, Bnei Yisrael mourned for him, but by the next pasuk Yehoshua had taken the reigns and started guiding Bnei Yisrael onto their next mission.
We must always remember that as one chapter ends, another one begins.Though it is true that V'Zot HaBracha is the final parsha in the Torah, the story is far from over. Just like Yehoshua and Bnei Yisrael, we meet this new year as well as every new beginning, as even stronger people than we were before, taking the lessons we’ve learned from our past experiences to guide us.
We must always remember that as one chapter ends, another one begins.Though it is true that V'Zot HaBracha is the final parsha in the Torah, the story is far from over. Just like Yehoshua and Bnei Yisrael, we meet this new year as well as every new beginning, as even stronger people than we were before, taking the lessons we’ve learned from our past experiences to guide us.
Chag Sameach and Shabbat Shalom!
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ii Translation my own
iii Translation my own
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