PARASHAT V’ZOT HABR’CHA
Saturday 3rd October 2026 22nd Tishrei 5787
PARASHAT V’ZOT HABR’CHA
וְזֹאת הַבְּרָכָה "and this is the blessing'
by FFOZ
Torah: Deuteronomy 33:1-34:12, Prophets: Joshua 1:1-18,
Gospel: Acts 1:1-14
Summary:
Moses bestows final blessings on the people of Israel, recalling HaShem’s majesty at Sinai and describing Israel as Yeshurun (upright one), beloved and protected. Each tribe receives blessings of strength, abundance, and protection, with glimpses of future redemption. Moses ascends Mount Nebo, where he sees the promised land and then dies. HaShem buries him in an unknown grave. Full of the spirit of wisdom, Joshua takes leadership as Israel mourns Moses, the man of God.
The Resurrection of Moses
Why was Moses buried outside the promised land?
When Moses blessed the tribe of Gad, he said, “He provided the first part for himself, for there the ruler’s portion was reserved; and he came with the leaders of the people; He executed the justice of the LORD, and His ordinances with Israel” (Deuteronomy 33:21).
Who is the “he” in this blessing? Tradition applies these descriptions to Moses himself.
The tribe of Gad settled in Transjordan. The sages understood the obscure words “for there the ruler’s portion was reserved” to refer to the grave of Moses (Deuteronomy 33:21). The Talmud says that the “ruler’s portion” in Gad is the burial plot of Moses.
Though Mount Nebo was located in the territory of Reuben, the sages imagined that the angels carried Moses into the adjacent territory of Gad for burial. Moreover, the Midrash interprets “he came at the head of the people” (Deuteronomy 33:21) to mean that Moses will lead his generation across the Jordan and into the land of Israel at the time of the resurrection of the dead. This is why the LORD did not allow Moses to cross the Jordan. He needed Moses to stay with his generation so that his merit and favor could save the generation that he buried in the wilderness:
Lest people suppose that the generation that fell in the wilderness has no share in the World to Come, you must be buried beside them. Then in the time to come, you shall enter with them, as it says, “For there the ruler’s portion was reserved; and he came at the head of the people.” (Numbers Rabbah 19:13)
The generation of Moses would merit to partake in the resurrection only due to Moses being buried on the East Bank of the Jordan just as they were. Moses identified himself as one with the people, and the LORD referred to Israel as the people of Moses, as it says in Exodus 32:7, “Go down at once, for your people.”
Chayim ben Attar notes that the operative word here is “your people,” i.e. that in order to save his people at the time of the resurrection, Moses had to die here and now.
Compare this legend about Moses with the Messiah Yeshua, Who also died in order to save Israel in the future resurrection. He took the first part for himself, i.e. He was the first raised from the dead.
In the future, He will come at the head of the resurrection, leading His people into the land of Israel like a king at the head of his army.
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