Ilustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
In This Week’s Parashah: מָה בַּפָּרָשָׁה
Full Parashah Reading: Devarim 33:1-34:12
- Moshe gives a בְּרָכָה (berakhah, blessing) to each שֵׁבֶט (shevet, tribe) of Benei Yisrael. Moshe emphasizes that God gave the Torah as an inheritance for all of Benei Yisrael. The last thing he says to the people is: אַשְׁרֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל (ashrekha Yisrael, you are so fortunate)! This means that we should be really happy about our unique relationship with God.
- Moshe climbs up a mountain called Har Nevo. God shows him Eretz Canaan and says that this is the land promised to Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaakov. God repeats to Moshe that he will not be able to enter the land himself.
- Moshe dies and is buried on the mountain, but nobody knows exactly where this burial place is.
- Benei Yisrael cry and mourn Moshe’s death for 30 days. Yehoshua takes over as leader of Benei Yisrael, and they listen to him because Moshe said to.
- The final pesukim of the Torah say that there never was another נָבִיא (navi, prophet) like Moshe, who knew God “face to face” and performed amazing miracles before all of Benei Yisrael.
