MOISHEH'S VISION

Dear Family,

I hope everyone is well and enjoying Sukkos!

It is so nice having part of the Family with us in London this year BH

Every day of Sukkos we have some special spiritual visitors to our Sukkah known as the Ushpizim. Today MOSHEH RABEINU is the visitor to all our sukkot.

There is also a Chassidishe ushpiz every day and today is The Mitteler Rebbe (the son of The Alte Rebbe)

And this week's Sedra is Zos Habrachah, and is about the brachos which MOSHEH RABEINU is giving to each tribe of Israel and to Bnei Yisrael in general, and his VISION OF THE FUTURE, just before his passing on Har Nebo.

I saw an interesting article about Moshe Rabeinu and his farewell address to the Jewish People this week and so I thought it would be appropriate to share this today, while he is with us in the sukkah!

This final blessing from Mosheh Rabbeinu is very powerful, especially in the light of the fact that we had already received the blessings of Yaakov in a similar manner at the end of Yaakov's life, at the end of the Book of Bereishis.

Now, in a kind of duplication, we are receiving Mosheh's blessings at the end of his life at the end of the Book of Devarim.

So what did Mosheh's blessings add onto those of Yaakov?

1. Yaakov was the Father of the Nation and Mosheh Rabeinu was its first leader. Therefore one is the blessing of a father to his Family, and one is the blessing of a leader to his Nation
2. A leader must make greater sacrifices to fulfil his role than a father. As can be seen, Moses had to contend with much more serious challenges than Yaakov, putting his life on the line. This being the case, it was only natural that this would elicit a greater response from Hashem
3. The superior efficacy of Mosheh's blessing is also alluded to in the opening verse of his brocha "Zos habrachah -THIS is the blessing" - Zos connotates pointing and specifying.
4. Mosheh is the representative and conduit of TORAH, and the Torah is the source of all blessing. Therefore despite Mosheh's relative aloofness from the affairs of life (as contrasted with Yaakov's greater involvement with family affairs), it was Mosheh who was to bestow G-d's ultimate blessing on the Nation
5. On the day of his death on Mount Nebo, Mosheh reached the 50th Gate of Understanding, a level which is mostly inaccessible to human beings
6. The vision of the Nation's future that Hashem granted to Mosheh, including the vision of the Messianic Redemption, is thus a fitting conclusion for the Torah.

And here is an example from the general blessing to the people and Mosheh's vision of the future (when we perform the Will of the Omnipresent):

"Ucheyamecha dovecha - And(even in the days of) your decline, ( it will be) like the days of your (prime)" Ie Even in the days of our old age, it will still feel like the days of our youth. - Rashi

The word dovecha has the implication of flowing, and Rashi gives another meaning in that the whole world will make gold and silver flow into the Land of Israel, because it will be blessed with fruits...

Gut Shabbos, Gut Moed, and Gut Yom Tov to all