Weekly Parsha

This Shabbat is sponsored by Chris Waller in honnor of her children and grandchildren.

Deuteronomy 31:1 - 31:30

VaYelech begins with Moshe passing the torch of leadership to Yehoshua (Joshua). Moshe then gives Yehoshua a command/blessing which applies to every Jewish leader: "Be strong and brave. Do not be afraid or feel insecure before them. G-d your Lord is the One who is going with you, and He will not fail you nor forsake you."

Moshe writes the entire Torah and gives it to the Cohanim and Elders. He then commands that in the future at the end of the Shmita (Sabbatical Year) the king should gather all the people during the Succot festival and read to them the Torah so "... that they will hear and learn and fear the Lord your G-d and be careful to perform all the words of the Torah."

The Almighty describes in a short paragraph the course of Jewish history (that's starting from Deuteronomy 31:16 for the curious). Lastly, before Moshe goes to "sleep with his forefathers," he assembles the people to teach them the song of Ha'azinu, the next weekly Torah portion, to remind them of the consequences of turning against the Almighty.

Dvar Torah
based on Growth Through Torah by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin

The Torah states:

"And you might see their abominable and repulsive idols of wood, stone, of silver and gold which are with them" (Deut 29:16).

Why does the Torah have to warn us about being negatively influenced by their idols if we will be repulsed by them?

Rabbi Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik elucidated that a person might see idols and view them as abominations and feel strongly repulsed and sickened. However, the Torah warns us against being negatively influenced by them because everything that we see makes an impression on us. Even though at first you feel negatively about them, eventually you might be influenced to follow them. Negative influences are powerful and must be kept at a distance.

QUOTE

Never make the bottom line
your top line!

You can get from impatient to "I'm patient" --
with just an apostrophe and a space!