Parshat Vayelech
This week's portion of Vayelech opens with the narrative of Moshe taking leave of the Jewish people. The Torah tells us (Devarim 31:1-2) "Moshe went and spoke these words to all of Israel. I am a hundred and twenty years old today, I can no longer go out and come in, for Hashem has said to me "You shall not cross this Jordan".
The Ramban (Nachmanides 1194-1270 Spain/Israel) explains that after sealing the special Brit (covenant) with the Jewish people (in last week's portion), Moshe visited each tribe in their own encampment and said goodbye and blessed them. Additionally, Moshe Rabbeinu gave each tribe a special gift.
The Midrash (Devraim Rabbah 9:4) tells us that prior to his death, Moshe wrote 13 Torah scrolls. Twelve of these were distributed to each of the Twelve Tribes. The thirteenth was placed in the Ark of the Covenant (with the stone Tablets). If anyone would come and attempt to rewrite or falsify the Torah, the one in the Ark would "testify" against him.
How touching that in his final moments of life, Moshe not only personally visited each and every tribe, but also presented them with a memento, a personal gift to be cherished for all time.
The portion of Vayelech is always read in close proximity to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, also known as the High Holiday season. This special time of the year is extremely busy, financially overwhelming, and stressful for many. The holidays are also simply physically exhausting. For the children of Klei Kodesh (those who care for the community i.e., rabbis, rebbitzins, cantors etc.), this time of the year is high-season is particularly overwhelming. For so many people, this most spiritual and uplifting time of the year can become the Low-Holiday season instead of the High-Holiday season which it is.
Hence the question, how do we make the holidays not only meaningful, but also warm, delightful and a positive and loving experience for our children? How do we make sure that our children feel valued, loved and relevant during this busy month of the Chagim?
Perhaps we can take a lesson from our great teacher Moshe. On the last day of his life he made it a priority to carve out some personal time for each and every one of the Shevatim (tribes). He spent quality time and even gave them a personal gift. Imagine of we were to make it our
priority to carve out some personal and quality time with each of our children and maybe even give them a special Yom Tov gift! It would create positive feelings of love and happiness in this busy time of the year.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Y. Marrus
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