V'Zot HaBerachah

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V'Zot HaBerachah, VeZot Haberakha, or Zos Habrocho (וזאת הברכה — Hebrew for "and this is the blessing," the first words in the parshah) is the 54th and last weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the 11th in the book of Deuteronomy. It constitutes Deuteronomy 33:1–34:12. Jews in the Diaspora generally read it in September or October on the Simchat Torah festival.

“The Lord . . . came from the myriads holy, at His right hand was a fiery law to them.” (Deut. 33:2.)

1 Summary
- 1.1 The blessing of Moses
- 1.2 The death of Moses
2 In classical rabbinic interpretation
- 2.1 Deuteronomy chapter 33
- 2.2 Deuteronomy chapter 34
3 Commandments
4 Haftarah
5 The Weekly Maqam
6 Further reading
7 External links
- 7.1 Texts
- 7.2 Commentaries

[edit] Summary

[edit] The blessing of Moses

Before he died, Moses, the man of God, bade the Israelites farewell with this blessing: God came from Sinai, shone on them from Seir, appeared from Paran, and approached from Ribeboth-kodesh, lightning flashing from God’s right. (Deut. 33:1–2.) God loved the people, holding their hallowed in God’s hand. (Deut. 33:3.) The people followed in God’s steps, accepting God’s Torah as the heritage of the congregation of Jacob. (Deut. 33:3–4.) God became King in Jeshurun when the chiefs of the tribes of Israel assembled. (Deut. 33:5.)

Moses prayed that the Tribe of Reuben survive, though its numbers were few. (Deut. 33:6.)

Moses asked God to hear the voice of the Tribe of Judah, restore it, and help it against its foes. (Deut. 33:7.)

Moses prayed that God would be with the Levites, who held God’s Urim and Thummim, whom God tested at Massah and Meribah, who disregarded family ties to carry out God’s will, who would teach God’s laws to Israel, and who would offer God’s incense and offerings. (Deut. 33:8–10.) Moses asked God to bless their substance, favor their undertakings, and smite their enemies. (Deut. 33:8–11.)

Moses said that God loved and always protected the Tribe of Benjamin, who rested securely beside God, between God’s shoulders. (Deut. 33:8–12.)

“Zebulun . . . and Issachar . . . shall suck the abundance of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand.”

Moses called on God to bless the Tribe of Joseph with dew, the yield of the sun, crops in season, the bounty of the hills, and the favor of the Presence in the burning bush. (Deut. 33:13–16.) Moses likened the tribe to a firstling bull, with horns like a wild ox, who gores the peoples from one end of the earth to the other. (Deut. 33:17.)

Moses exhorted the Tribe of Zebulun to rejoice on its journeys, and the Tribe of Issachar in its tents. (Deut. 33:18.) They invited their kin to the mountain where they offered sacrifices of success; they drew from the riches of the sea and the hidden hoards of the sand. (Deut. 33:19.)

“Gad . . . dwells like a lion.” (Deut. 33:20.) (brick panel from the Procession Way of Babylon, now at the Louvre)

Moses blessed the God who enlarged the Tribe of Gad, who was poised like a lion, who chose the best, the portion of the revered chieftain, who executed God’s judgments for Israel. (Deut. 33:20–21.)

Moses called the Tribe of Dan a lion’s whelp that leapt from Bashan. (Deut. 33:22.)

Moses told the Tribe of Naphtali, sated with favor and blessed by God, to take possession on the west and south. (Deut. 33:23.)

Moses prayed that the Tribe of Asher be the favorite among the tribes, dip its feet in oil, and have door bolts of iron and copper and security all its days. (Deut. 33:24–25.)

Moses said that there was none like God, riding through the heavens to help, an everlasting refuge and support, Who drove out the enemy. (Deut. 33:26–27.) Thus Israel dwelt untroubled in safety in a land of grain and wine under heaven’s dripping dew. (Deut. 33:28.) Who was like Israel, a people delivered by God, God’s protecting Shield and Sword triumphant over Israel’s cringing enemies. (Deut. 33:29.)

[edit] The death of Moses

Moses went up from the steppes of Moab to Mount Nebo, and God showed him the whole land. (Deut. 34:1–3.) God told Moses that this was the land that God had sworn to assign to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Deut. 34:4.)

So Moses the servant of God died there, in the land of Moab, at God’s command, and God buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, near Beth-peor, although no one knew his burial place. (Deut. 34:5–6.) Moses was 120 years old when he died, but his eyes were undimmed and his vigor unabated. (Deut. 34:7.) The Israelites mourned for 30 days. (Deut. 34:8.) Joshua was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him, and the Israelites heeded him. (Deut. 34:9.)

Never again did there arise in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom God singled out, face to face, for the signs and portents that God sent him to display against Pharaoh and Egypt, and for all the awesome power that Moses displayed before Israel. (Deut. 34:10–12.)

[edit] In classical rabbinic interpretation

[edit] Deuteronomy chapter 33

The Tosefta found in Deuteronomy 33:2 demonstration of the proposition that Providence rewards a person measure for measure. Thus just as Abraham rushed three times to serve the visiting angels in Genesis 18:2, 6, and 7, so God rushed three times in service of Abraham’s children when in Genesis 18:2, God “came from Sinai, rose from Seir to them, [and] shined forth from mount Paran.” (Tosefta Sotah 4:1.)

The students of Rav Shila’s academy deduced from the words “from His right hand, a fiery law for them” in Deuteronomy 33:2 that Moses received the Torah from God’s hand. (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 4b.)

The Mishnah applied to Moses the words of Deuteronomy 33:21, “He executed the righteousness of the Lord and His ordinances with Israel,” deducing therefrom that Moses was righteous and caused many to be righteous, and therefore the righteousness of the many was credited to him. (Mishnah Avot 5:18.) And the Tosefta taught that the ministering angels mourned Moses with these words of Deuteronomy 33:21. (Tosefta Sotah 4:9.)

[edit] Deuteronomy chapter 34

The Mishnah and Tosefta also cited Deuteronomy 34:6 for the proposition that Providence treats a person measure for measure as that person treats others. And so because, as Exodus 13:19 relates, Moses attended to Joseph’s bones, so in turn, none but God attended him, as Deuteronomy 34:6 reports that God buried Moses. (Mishnah Sotah 1:7–9; Tosefta Sotah 4:8.) The Tosefta deduced that Moses was thus borne on the wings of God’s Presence from the portion of Reuben (where the Tosefta deduced from Deuteronomy 32:49 that Moses died on Mount Nebo) to the portion of Gad (where the Tosefta deduced from the words “there a portion of a ruler was reserved” in Deuteronomy 33:21 that Moses was buried). (Tosefta Sotah 4:8.)

The Tosefta deduced from facts reported in Deuteronomy 34:8 and Joshua 1:1–2, 1:10–11, and 4:19 that Moses died on the seventh of Adar. (Tosefta Sotah 11:7.)

[edit] Commandments

According to Maimonides and Sefer ha-Chinuch, there are no commandments in the parshah. (Maimonides. Mishneh Torah. Cairo, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 2 vols. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4. Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 5:443. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1988. ISBN 0-87306-497-6.)

The Children of Israel Crossing the Jordan (illustration by Gustave Doré)

[edit] Haftarah

The haftarah for the parshah is:

for Ashkenazi Jews: Joshua 1:1–1:18;
for Sephardi Jews: Joshua 1:1–9.

The haftarah carries forward the story in the parshah. As the parshah concludes the Torah, the haftarah begins the Prophets. The parshah (in Deuteronomy 34:5) and the haftarah (in Joshua 1:1–2) both report Moses’s death. The haftarah (in Joshua 1:6–9) echoes God’s encouragement to Joshua to be “strong and resolute,” which God had voiced in text just before the parshah (in Deuteronomy 31:23).

[edit] The Weekly Maqam

In the Weekly Maqam, Sephardi Jews each week base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parshah. For parshah V'Zot HaBerachah, which falls on the holiday Simchat Torah, Sephardi Jews apply Maqam Ajam, the maqam that expresses happiness, to commemorating the joy of finishing up the Torah readings, getting ready to begin the cycle again.

[edit] Further reading

The parshah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:

[edit] Biblical

Josephus

[edit] Early nonrabbinic

Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 4:8:47–49. Circa 93–94. Reprinted in, e.g., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by William Whiston, 124–25. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1987. ISBN 0-913573-86-8.

[edit] Classical rabbinic

Mishnah Sotah 1:7–9; Avot 5:18. Land of Israel, circa 200 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 449, 688. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-300-05022-4.
Tosefta: Maaser Sheni 5:27; Sotah 4:1, 8–9, 11:7; Bava Kamma 8:18; Sanhedrin 4:9. Land of Israel, circa 300 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction, 1:330, 844, 847–48, 879; 2:999, 1160. Translated by Jacob Neusner. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 2002. ISBN 1-56563-642-2.
Sifre to Deuteronomy 342:1–357:20. Land of Israel, circa 250–350 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., Sifre to Deuteronomy: An Analytical Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 2:399–462. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987. ISBN 1-55540-145-7.
Jerusalem Talmud: Berakhot 23a, 77a. Land of Israel, circa 400 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, vols. 1 & 2. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
Genesis Rabbah 1:4, 11; 6:9; 36:3; 39:11; 68:9; 72:5; 75:6, 12; 77:1; 82:5; 84:6; 86:3; 93:6–7; 95; 95:1, 4; 96; 97; 98:4, 12–13, 20; 99:2, 4, 9, 12; 100:9, 12. Land of Israel, 5th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
Leviticus Rabbah 1:4; 4:1; 9:3; 10:7; 21:2, 6; 25:2; 28:6; 30:2; 31:4; 32:2; 35:11; 36:4. Land of Israel, 5th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Leviticus. Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.

Talmud

Babylonian Talmud: Berakhot 6a, 18b, 33a, 51a, 56b–57a, 62a; Shabbat 63a, 118b; Pesachim 52a, 72b; Yoma 12a, 26a, 53b, 66b, 83b; Sukkah 42a; Beitzah 25b; Rosh Hashanah 21b, 26a, 32b; Megillah 6a, 16a, 26a, 31a; Moed Katan 21a, 25b, 28a; Chagigah 12b, 16a; Ketubot 103b; Sotah 4b, 7b, 9b, 11b, 13b–14a, 37a; Kiddushin 38a, 66b; Bava Kamma 2b, 17a, 38a, 81b, 92a–b; Bava Batra 8a, 14a, 15a, 17a, 56a, 79a; Sanhedrin 39a, 42a, 46b, 59a, 91b–92a, 104a; Makkot 11a–12a, 23b–24a; Avodah Zarah 2b; Zevachim 54a–b, 118b; Menachot 30a, 53b, 85b, 93b; Chullin 89a. Babylonia, 6th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.

[edit] Medieval

Deuteronomy Rabbah 2:5, 9; 3:12; 5:4; 7:5; 8:2; 11:1–10. Land of Israel, 9th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Deuteronomy. Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
Exodus Rabbah 1:16; 2:6; 5:9–10; 15:14; 19:5; 25:8; 30:8; 33:7; 35:1; 38:4; 40:1, 2; 41:4; 43:4; 48:4; 52:1. 10th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Exodus. Translated by S. M. Lehrman. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
Rashi. Commentary. Deuteronomy 33–34. Troyes, France, late 11th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 5:371–403. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997. ISBN 0-89906-030-7.
Numbers Rabbah 1:12; 2:7, 10; 3:6; 8:9; 10:8; 11:2; 12:1, 3–4, 9; 13:4, 8, 15–18, 20; 14:1, 4, 9–10; 15:12–13, 18; 19:9, 13; 20:4; 22:9. 12th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Numbers. Translated by Judah J. Slotki. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
Esther Rabbah 7:11, 13; 10:4.
Song of Songs Rabbah 1:13, 49, 56; 3:19, 23; 4:8, 17; 5:7, 9, 15; 7:12.
Lamentations Rabbah 2:6; 3:1, 22.
Ecclesiastes Rabbah 4:7; 10:20.
Zohar 1:6b, 10a, 70a, 163a, 170b, 185b, 192b, 198a, 200b, 227b, 235a, 236a–b, 238b, 241b, 244b, 246b; 2:27a, 81a, 82a, 84a, 89a, 90b, 131a, 135a, 166b, 206b, 215a; 3:14a, 104b, 192a. Spain, late 13th Century. Reprinted in, e.g, The Zohar. Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 vols. London: Soncino Press, 1934.

Hobbes

[edit] Modern

Thomas Hobbes. Leviathan, 3:33, 34, 42. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson, 417, 433, 521–22. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0140431950.
Moses Mendelssohn. Jerusalem, § 2. Berlin, 1783. Reprinted in Jerusalem: Or on Religious Power and Judaism. Translated by Allan Arkush; introduction and commentary by Alexander Altmann, 123. Hanover, N.H.: Brandeis Univ. Press, 1983. ISBN 0-87451-264-6.

Dickinson

Emily Dickinson. Poem 112 (Where bells no more affright the morn —). Circa 1859. Poem 168 (If the foolish, call them "flowers" —). Circa 1860. Poem 597 (It always felt to me — a wrong). Circa 1862. In The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. Edited by Thomas H. Johnson, 53, 79–80, 293–94. New York: Little, Brown & Co., 1960. ISBN 0-316-18414-4.
Thomas Mann. Joseph and His Brothers. Translated by John E. Woods, 788. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4001-9. Originally published as Joseph und seine Brüder. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943.
Martin Buber. On the Bible: Eighteen studies, 80–92. New York: Schocken Books, 1968.