The Last Day

"Moses went and spoke these words to all of Yisrael." (31:1)

A thought for Shabbat Shuva (the Shabbat between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur).

What would you do if you knew that you had just one more day to live?

How would you spend that last day?

Would you drive to the ocean with the top down for a last glimpse of the sun rising over the waves? Would you book lunch at the best restaurant in town? Or maybe you would indulge in the thrill of a dangerous sport like skydiving or bungee jumping, safe in the knowledge that there is no such thing as a dangerous sport on the last day of your life.

Or maybe, if you were a more contemplative sort, you’d spend those last few hours writing down your thoughts and feelings as you were about to depart this world.

How many of us would spend those precious last moments calling on our friends to say goodbye, to give them comfort and consolation?

That’s what Moshe did when G-d told him that he had awoken to his last day on Earth. Moshe, the humblest person to walk this planet understood that his duty on his last day was to take leave of the Jewish people and comfort them over his impending death.

And how did Moshe comfort the people? What were his words of comfort? He said, "I am an old man of a hundred and twenty years. I am no longer permitted to teach you Torah; G-d has closed the wellsprings of Torah from me. G-d will not let me cross the Jordan River, but do not be discouraged! The Divine Presence will precede you, and Yehoshua will be your leader."

What did Moshe mean when he said "G-d has closed the wellsprings of Torah from me"? Moshe was telling the people that he had lost the power to communicate Torah to them. Moshe wasMoshe Rabbeinu, Moshe "our teacher." An essential quality of a teacher is that he can adapt his knowledge to the level and understanding of his pupils. When Moshe passed from this world, however, his understanding of Torah was so elevated that he could no longer present the Torah on the level of the Jewish People. Hence the metaphor of the wellspring. A wellspring flows outward. Moshe’s ability to flow his wisdom to the people was closed up.

In fact, Moshe never found it easy to teach the People. When G-d told Moshe to return to Egypt and take out the Jewish People from their slavery, Moshe replied, "I am not a man of words… for I am heavy of mouth and heavy of speech" (Shemot 4:10). In other words, Moshe’s connection to spirituality was so elevated that it was extremely difficult for him to clothe his perception within the sinews of speech.

Moshe comforted the people with the knowledge that though he would not be there to teach them Torah, the Torah would still be with them. They would still have "The Guide To Life" and teachers who could bring its supernal wisdom into each and every life throughout the generations.