פָּרָשַׁת וְזֹאת הַבְּרָכָה

Parshat Vezot HaBerachah, the last parsha of the Torah, is Moshe Rabbeinu's blessing of the tribes of Yisrael before his death, and the account of his death. Moshe, "the man of G-d," opens with Hashem's revelation at Sinai, where He gave Bnei Yisrael (the children of Israel) an esh dat (a fiery law): "Torah tzivah lanu Moshe, morashah kehillat Yaakov" — the Torah Moshe commanded us is the heritage of the congregation of Yaakov.

Moshe then blesses each tribe. Reuven will live and not die, and Moshe asks Hashem to hear the voice of Yehudah. Levi teaches Hashem's laws to Yaakov and brings the ketoret (incense) and the offerings. Binyamin, the beloved of Hashem, dwells securely beside Him. Yosef's land is blessed with the best of the heavens and the earth. Zevulun rejoices in his going out and Yissachar in his tents; Gad dwells like a lion, Dan is a lion's cub, Naftali is full of Hashem's blessing, and Asher is the most blessed of the sons. Moshe's last words to the people are "Ashrecha Yisrael, mi chamocha" — fortunate are you, Yisrael; who is like you, a people saved by Hashem.

Then Moshe goes up Har Nevo (Mount Nebo), and Hashem shows him the whole land He swore to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, which Moshe sees but does not enter. Moshe, the servant of Hashem, dies there at a hundred and twenty years old, and no one knows his burial place to this day. Bnei Yisrael mourn him for thirty days, and then they listen to Yehoshua bin Nun. Never again has a navi (prophet) arisen in Yisrael like Moshe, whom Hashem knew face to face.

Parshat Vezot HaBerachah is read on Shmini Atzeret in Israel (Simchat Torah), when the reading of the Torah is completed and begun again from Bereishit. Chazak, chazak, venitchazek.