{"id":52562,"date":"2019-03-31T11:31:54","date_gmt":"2019-03-31T08:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=52562"},"modified":"2022-10-23T18:04:06","modified_gmt":"2022-10-23T15:04:06","slug":"moses-death-an-intimate-portrait","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/moses-death-an-intimate-portrait\/","title":{"rendered":"Moses\u2019 Death: An Intimate Portrait"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[383,397],"acf":{"old_id":"52562","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":48616,"related_cahpter":"187","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"A resounding epilogue, and a fitting end to the Torah","content":"

The last twelve verses of the Torah are not a simple description of Moses\u2019s death. Rather they hold within them a resounding epilogue. The Bible, in its special way, conveys messages and strong emotions in these verses. Here are a few examples.<\/span><\/p>\n

Verse 1 in chapter 34 is the direct continuation of chapter 33. Reading both chapters in sequence portrays this picture: Moses finishes his speech with a blessing to the people of Israel. His last blessing \u201cO happy Israel! Who is like you, A people delivered by the LORD, Your protecting Shield […]\u201d reminds the people of Israel that their success is dependent on God. Immediately after those words, without a goodbye, thank you, or time for questions, Moses goes up Mount Nebo. The person that led the people of Israel for over forty years, turns from them and disappears.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first word in chapter 34 is also Moses\u2019s last action – <\/span>vaya\u2019al<\/span><\/em> – \u201cand he went up\u201d (the next actions in the chapter are God\u2019s). This word echoes the last word in the Bible (II Chronicles 37:23). Here Moses goes up the border of the promised land, and there the Judeans are permitted to go back to the promised land. How poetic it is, that Moses, who started his life going down into the Nile (Exodus 2:3-5), finishes his life going up a mountain!<\/span><\/p>\n

At the top of the mountain, Moses becomes passive. God shows him the whole land, and describes to him what he is seeing. God\u2019s last words to Moses are: \u201cI have let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not cross there\u201d. Seemingly, harsh words. Even in his last seconds, God reminds Moses that he will not enter the land! However, God\u2019s words here allude to Moses\u2019s words in chapter 3: \u201cLet me, I pray, cross over and see the good land […]\u201d (verse 25). In chapter 3 God is furious with Moses\u2019s request: \u201cEnough! Never speak to me of this matter again\u201d, but here in chapter 34, God softens his tone and satisfies half of Moses\u2019s desire – he will see the land, but will not cross over. God\u2019s personal closeness to Moses is visible in verse 6, where God himself buries Moses: \u201cHe buried him in the valley in the land of Moab\u201d Just imagine that funeral procession. God holding Moses\u2019s body, slowly descending into a valley in the land of Moab.<\/span><\/p>\n

The last twelve verses of the Torah are worthy of being the ending of the Torah. In a subtle and sophisticated way, the writer disconnects the reader from the employer-employee relationship that defined the relationship between Moses and God throughout the Torah and brings the reader into an intimate moment between the main character of the Tanakh and the main character of its first part.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":52564,"id":52564,"title":"dt34-finish","filename":"dt34-finish.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt34-finish.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/moses-death-an-intimate-portrait\/dt34-finish\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"dt34-finish","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":52562,"date":"2019-03-31 08:31:42","modified":"2019-03-31 08:31:51","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt34-finish-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt34-finish-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt34-finish-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt34-finish-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt34-finish.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt34-finish.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt34-finish-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt34-finish-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"Moses\u2019 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