Netzavim Vayeilech 5774:     Where Are You Going?

By Rabbi Joshua (consistently known as The Hoffer) Hoffman

Parshas Vayeilech begins with the words “And Moshe went (Vayeilech Moshe) and spoke these words to all of Yisroel (Devarim 31:1). Where did he go? R. Avraham Ibn Ezra says that he went to each tribe, to comfort them over his imminent death, and to strengthen and encourage them by appointing Yehoshua as his successor. Interestingly, the Midrash Tanchuma, cited by Rav Mordechai Ilan in his Mikdash Mordechai, says that “and he went” as used here, is an expression of rebuke. Rav Ilan suggests an explanation of what kind of rebuke is implied here, but I would like to explain this midrash on the basis of an idea presented by Rabbi Dov Berel Wein in his “BaMesillah Na’aleh.”

Rabbi Wein connects the word “Vayeilech,” as used here, to the word “mehalchim” – strides – used in Zechariah, 3:7. In the prophecy brought there, an angel of God tells Yehoshua, the high priest, in the name of God, “If you go in my ways and safeguard My watch… I will give you strides among these angels, who stand here.” The Vilna Gaon explains that an angel is referred to as standing because angels are given one task, one function and that is all that they do. They do not grow in their spirituality. A human being, however, does not stand still. He either progresses or regresses. God was telling the high priest that by following the Torah, he will be able to grow. This was the message that Moshe was giving to the Jewish people, as well, before he died. He was telling them, by going to each tribe, that although he was already one-hundred twenty-years old, he was still growing, because he was constantly teaching Torah and following its ways, observing God’s command. In this way, the word, “Vayeilech” was an expression of rebuke, telling the people that if they wanted to grow and actualize their inner selves, the way to do that was to search for new approaches and practices, but to follow God’s Torah faithfully.

Moshe’s appointment of Yehoshua as his successor underscored this message. Yehoshua was chosen because, as the Torah describes him, he was Moshe’s faithful servant, never leaving his tent, and always following in his path as a servant of God, following His Torah as Moshe taught him. The rabbis tell us that Yehoshua served Moshe to the extent that he would put the study hall back in order after Moshe taught Torah to the people. This was the model that Moshe presented to the people before he died, teaching them which path to follow in order to grow.

Perhaps that is why this section of the parsha is followed by the mitzvah of Hakheil, during which the people gather in the Beis HaMikdash during the Sukkos that follows the end of the Shemittah year, to hear the Torah read to them by the king. The Shemittah year, when the land is left fallow, allows the people time to immerse themselves in Torah and renew their commitment to it. The reading of the Torah at Hakheil, as the Ramban describes it in the Laws of Chagigah, is a kind of re-enactment of the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai, a fitting culmination to the Shemittah year. By giving over this mitzvah before he died, Moshe was again telling the people that the way to continually grow is strengthen one’s commitment to Torah, on both a collective and an individual level, reinforcing the commitment made at Mt. Sinai.