Summary

Moses is giving his last speech to the Israelites before they enter the Land of Israel.  He tells them that he is 120 years old today and that God is not letting him enter the Promised Land.  He tells the people that God will defeat their enemies in the land and they will take possession of it.  He reminds them to be be strong and have faith that God will be with them. He appoints Joshua as his successor.

Moses completes writing down the Teaching from God and hands it over to the elders and priests, who carried the Ark of the Covenant.  He instructs them to read the Teaching every 7 years during Sukkot.

God then tells Moses that he will soon die and that he must bring Joshua to God’s presence in the Tent of Meeting so that God can instruct Joshua.

God warns Moses that after he dies, the people will rebel.  God tells Moses to write down a poem and teach it to the Israelites. This poem will serve as a witness for God and as a warning to the people.

Torah Portion in English

1) Moses went and spoke these things to all Israel. 2) He said to them: I am now one hundred and twenty years old, I can no longer be active. Moreover, the Lord has said to me, “You shall not go across yonder Jordan.” 3) The Lord your God Himself will cross over before you; and He Himself will wipe out those nations from your path and you shall dispossess them.—Joshua is the one who shall cross before you, as the Lord has spoken.— 4) The Lord will do to them as He did to Sihon and Og, kings of the Amorites, and to their countries, when He wiped them out. 5) The Lord will deliver them up to you, and you shall deal with them in full accordance with the Instruction that I have enjoined upon you. 6) Be strong and resolute, be not in fear or in dread of them; for the Lord your God Himself marches with you: He will not fail you or forsake you.

7) Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel: “Be strong and resolute, for it is you who shall go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their fathers to give them, and it is you who shall apportion it to them. 8) And the Lord Himself will go before you. He will be with you; He will not fail you or forsake you. Fear not and be not dismayed!”

9) Moses wrote down this Teaching and gave it to the priests, sons of Levi, who carried the Ark of the Lord‘s Covenant, and to all the elders of Israel.

10) And Moses instructed them as follows: Every seventh year, the year set for remission, at the Feast of Booths, 11) when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place that He will choose, you shall read this Teaching aloud in the presence of all Israel. 12) Gather the people—men, women, children, and the strangers in your communities—that they may hear and so learn to revere the Lord your God and to observe faithfully every word of this Teaching. 13) Their children, too, who have not had the experience, shall hear and learn to revere the Lord your God as long as they live in the land that you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.

Getting to Know my Parasha

What Does my Parasha Say?

1. How old was Moses in this parasha?
2. Was Moses allowed to cross the Jordan?
3. Other than God, who would lead the Israelites?
4. What does Moses tell Joshua?
5. Moses wrote down the law.  Who did he give it to? What did they do with it?
6. What were the instructions about reading the law?
7. What does God tell Moses will happen to the Israelites when they enter the land?
8. How will God reach?
9. What does God tell Moses to prepare?
10. What does Moses tell the priests at the end?