On Simchat Torah, we complete the
yearly cycle of reading the entire Five Books of the Torah and then we
immediately begin the new course by starting again with Breisheet.
At the end of VeZot HaBracha, while hearing
about Moshe’s accomplishments, his death outside of the Land of Israel and the
entire nation mourning for him for thirty days, we learn about the continuation
of the leadership which was passed down to Yehoshua.
As we read in Dvarim 34:9:
And Yehoshua Bin Nun was filled with
a spirit of wisdom because Moshe had rested his hands on him; B’nai Yisrael
listened to him and acted as God had commanded Moshe.
B’nai Yisrael were already familiar
with Yehoshua, Moshe’s loyal servant. He was instrumental in the war on Amalek
and brought back a good report of the Land of Israel in the incident of the
scouts.
Although the Five Books of the Torah
have been completed, we are not left hanging. The Haftarah for Simchat Torah (Yehoshua,
Chapter 1) takes us right into the beginning of the Book of Yehoshua which speaks
about B’nai Yisrael entering, conquering, inheriting and settling the Land of
Israel and picks up where we left off at the end of VeZot HaBracha:
It happened after the death of
Moshe, servant of God, that God said to Yehoshua Bin Nun, Moshe’s attendant
saying: “Moshe, My servant has died. Now, arise, cross this Jordan, you and
this entire people, to the Land that I will give to them, to B’nai Yisrael. Every
place upon which the sole of your foot will tread I have given to you, as I
spoke to Moshe…Be strong and courageous for it is you who will cause this
people to inherit the Land that I have sworn to their fathers to give to them…This
Book of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth; rather you should
contemplate it day and night in order that you observe to do according to all
that is written in it; for then you will make your way successful, and then you
will act wisely…”
According to Rav Yisachar Yakovson,
the Torah and Haftarah readings teach an important lesson to the generation
that is entering the Land of Israel and to all future generations: The leaders
of the nation, even the greatest of them are all mortal and move on while the
Torah remains and helps the nation carry on even after the leader is gone.
Moshe passed away, but the Torah of Moshe is a living Torah which endures
forever.
