V'zot Habrakha: A Summary of the Parsha

Moses gives the tribes of Israel a final blessing and dies at the age of 120; the Children of Israel mourn and begin to follow Joshua, their new leader.

By Nancy Reuben Greenfield

The following article is reprinted with permission from Jewish Family & Life!

 

Before his death, Moses blesses the Children of Israel, reminding them that God's teaching is the inheritance for the children of Israel and what unites them. Moses continues with a message for each of the tribes.

 

Then Moses says to the people, "There is None like Your God. God guides heavens to help you... God is the support everlasting that raises up all things from the depths. God has driven away the enemy from before you."

 

Moses went up from the wastelands of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the summit of the high place that lies before Jericho, and God showed him all the land. Then God said to Moses. "This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To your descendants will I give it. I let you see it with your eyes but you will not go there."

 

And Moses, the servant of God, died there in the land of Moab, according to the utterance of God. God buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-Peor and no one has known his grave to this day.

 

Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye had not become dim and his freshness had not departed.

 

The Children of Israel wept for Moses in the wastelands of Moab for 30 days. When the days of weeping in mourning for Moses were at an end, Joshua, son of Nun, was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him. Then the Children of Israel hearkened to Joshua as God had commanded Moses. And no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses, whom God permitted to know God face to face.

Questions For Discussion

1) What does it mean for Moses to be a servant of God?

 

2) Are you a servant of God? Why or why not?

 

3) Is there a way to become a servant of God? How?

 

4) Why do you think there has never been another prophet like Moses? Do you think that there will ever be another prophet like Moses? Why or why not?

 

5) Do we need a prophet like Moses today? Why or why not?

 

Nancy Reuben Greenfield is a free-lance writer who lives in Carrollton, Texas, with her husband and two young children. She writes frequently on Jewish themes and is finishing a book, co-authored with her father, called The Golden Medina.