Kevin Bemel ·
Warning: You’ll See Greater Prospects in Your Life
2 minutes to read
Parsha [Passage of Scripture] Nugget [Precious Idea] Vezos Haberachah – Deuteronomy 33:1-34:12My daughter finds it difficult to imagine what the future has in store for her. She knows she won’t actually live in Breckindale with Sophie and her friends (Keeper of the Lost Cities for the uninitiated). And I think she realizes she won’t actually become a telepath. But excluding such fantasies doesn’t help define an aspirational yet achievable future. She shares such impaired vision with many veterans. Do you see the vast potential in your post-military life? Parshas Vezos Haberachah makes clear just how far you can go:
“…his eye had not dimmed, and his vigor had not diminished” (Deuteronomy/Devarim 34:7)
This week’s parsha, read on Simchas Torah, completes the cycle of readings for the year. In it, Moses blesses each of the tribes individually then the Children of Israel as a group. It ends with his death and praise for the person he became.
The Greatest Person of All Time
The Bible is filled with great people. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all vie for the top spot. And don’t forget, Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, and Rachel whose legacy can be seen in a string of outstanding women through to today.
Moses surpassed them all. Adam was the first human created in G-d’s image by the Creator’s own hands. Moses, though born of human parents, earned an eternal radiance reflective of his matchless relationship with the Creator. Noah’s righteousness spared him and his family from the flood. Yet he didn’t even try to save his generation from destruction. Moses saved hundreds of thousands of people from annihilation despite their grave sin of idolatry.
Abraham fed passersby. But he had ready access to ordinary food. Moses fed the Israelites in the wilderness with miraculous manna for 40 years. Isaac merited being an offering to G-d. Moses met the Almighty face-to-face. Jacob overcame an angel in an Earth-based fight. Moses met the angels in their heavenly realm and they trembled.
In every aspect of his character, Moses surpassed every other Biblical personage.
Your Greater Prospects & Current Circumstances Are Unrelated
Nothing in Moses’s upbringing could have foretold his future. He was born at a time when Pharaoh decreed the execution of all male Hebrew babies. Pharaoh’s daughter raised him amidst the depravity of the Egyptian court. As a young man, he exiled himself after committing murder. He had a cleft palate that gave him such an inferiority complex his older brother had to be his spokesman.
Despite all these challenges, Moses became the most outstanding person in human history. He acquired tremendous wealth. He had a loving marriage. His community revered him. He achieved unequaled closeness with G-d. The Torah is also known as the Five Books of Moses. In this guise, it puts every Horatio Alger story to shame.
The Creator tells you the story of Moses to inspire you to follow in his footsteps. No matter how difficult your challenges, you have the potential for greatness. Where do you want to set your aspirations? Wealth? Tight-knit relationships? Soaring spirituality? You can achieve them. Begin by seeing your greater prospects.
What holds you back from seeking out incomparable life? Please comment below.
Every year beginning on Simchas Torah, the cycle of reading the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, ends and begins again. Each Sabbath a portion known as a sedra or parsha is read. It is named after the first significant word or two with which this weekly reading begins.
What verse in the Old Testament would you like to know more about? Ask a question and I will answer it in a future Parsha Nugget!
