Ilustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
In This Week’s Parashah: מָה בַּפָּרָשָׁה
Full Parashah Reading: Devarim 31:1-30
- Moshe tells Benei Yisrael that he is 120 years old and his life is coming to an end. He will not be able to enter Eretz Yisrael with them.
- Moshe encourages the people. He tells them not to be afraid, God will take care of them.
- Yehoshua will lead Benei Yisrael, and Moshe urges him: חֲזַק וֶאֱמָץ (hazak ve’ematz, be strong and brave)!
- Every seven years, at the end of שְׁמִטָּה (shemittah, the year of release), there’s a special ceremony on Sukkot. It’s called הַקְהֵל (hakhel), and it’s a massive public Torah reading event.
- God describes what could happen when, in the future, Benei Yisrael stop following the Torah. God mentions the painful possibility of הֶסְתֵּר פָּנִים (hester panim, hiding God’s face), like someone not as present or visible, turning away from the people’s needs and suffering.
- God tells Moshe to write down the song of the Torah and teach it to Benei Yisrael. (See the פַּרְשָׁנוּת / Commentary section, for what this could mean.)
