TORAH: Deuteronomy 29:9-31:30
HAFTARAH: Isaiah 61:10-63:9
GOSPEL: John 12:41-50; Matthew 21:9-17
Portion Summary
Nitzavim
The name of the fifty-first reading from the Torah is Nitzavim (נצבים), which means “standing.” The name is derived from the first verse of the portion in which Moses says, “You stand (nitzavim) today, all of you, before the LORD your God” (Deuteronomy 29:10). In this portion, Moses invites the entire assembly of Israel to take on the covenant. He warns them that if they sin, they will go into exile, but he also predicts that, in the future, they will repent and God will return them to the land of Israel. In some years, Nitzavim is read together with the subsequent Torah portion, Vayelech, on the same Sabbath.
Vayelech
The name of the fifty-second reading from the Torah is Vayelech (וילך), which means “and he went.” The name is derived from the first word of the first verse of the portion: “So Moses went (vayelech) and spoke these words to all Israel.” In this short portion, Moses commands an assembly for a public Torah reading and covenant renewal once every seven years. He then finishes writing the scroll of the Torah and has it deposited in the Holy of Holies next to the ark of the covenant.
Torah
Deuteronomy 30:1 | God’s Fidelity Assured
Deuteronomy 30:11 | Exhortation to Choose Life
Deuteronomy 31:1 | Joshua Becomes Moses’ Successor
Deuteronomy 31:9 | The Law to Be Read Every Seventh Year
Deuteronomy 31:14 | Moses and Joshua Receive God’s Charge
Prophets
Isaiah 61:1 | The Good News of Deliverance
Isaiah 62:1 | The Vindication and Salvation of Zion
Isaiah 63:1 | Vengeance on Edom
Isaiah 63:7 | God’s Mercy Remembered
Portion Commentary:
Moses and Gethsemane
Moses faced his own garden of Gethsemane, so to speak, when the LORD summoned him to leave Israel behind and ascend Mount Nebo and die atop the mountain.
At the outset of this Torah portion, Moses announced to Israel that he was about to die. He told the people that God had forbidden him to cross over the Jordan with them.
According to a long-standing tradition, the LORD announced to Moses, “Behold, the time for you to die is near” (Deuteronomy 31:14), on the seventh day of the month of Adar in the biblical year 2488. It happened to be Moses’ birthday. He was one hundred and twenty years old to the day, which is why he said, “I am a hundred and twenty years old today” (Deuteronomy 31:2). Therefore, Jewish tradition honors the seventh day of Adar as the anniversary of the birthday of Moses and the anniversary (yahrzeit) of his death.
Before that day was over, Moses ascended Mount Nebo and willingly surrendered his soul to his maker.
In the legends and midrashim about the death of Moses, however, he does not go passively or willingly to his death. Instead, he argues vociferously for life. In anguish of soul, he implores God to spare him the indignity of death. He beseeches God for mercy, and attempts to counter the heavenly decree.
It seems strange that the traditional stories would paint Moses—the hero of heroes—as reluctant to accept death. Why would Moses resist striding boldly into that dark night?
The example of Moses teaches us that we are not to accept death passively. Moses tells us, “Choose life in order that you may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).
Some religious circles foster an unhealthy and morbid fascination with death. Since “to be absent from the body is to be home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8), it might seem natural to look forward to death and embrace it when it comes. On the contrary, death is the enemy—the last enemy. Though death comes with inevitable certainty, it should never be our hope. Our hope is in life. We find comfort in death only because we have seen life overcome it.
Death feels offensive to the human soul, for God has set eternity in the heart of man. God made man for immortality; death is a sacrilege to our inner-being. This explains why Moses resisted death, even though his hope was certain.
In a similar way, the second Moses struggled against death in Gethsemane. He said, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me!” (Matthew 26:39). How is it, when so many martyrs have gone bravely to their deaths, that the Master flinched in the face of His own—especially when He knew that His death would purchase the redemption of Israel? Yeshua followed in the example of Moses who strove against death to the end.
Death is abhorrent, and one has an obligation to strive against it. Just as Moses beseeched God for reprieve, so too, Yeshua struggled for life. Ultimately, both Moses and the Master surrendered to the will of the Father: “Not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39). They found life in submission to the Father. They chose life, even in death:
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. (Matthew 16:25)
Read complete commentary at First Fruits of Zion.
