Shabbat Shuvah Thoughts (short read)

Below is teaching of Chaplain (Rabbi to be) Adam Ruditsky in conjunction with the book Preparing for the High Holidays

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רפואה מן התורה

The parasha, Vayelech, is the last words of Moses before Israel enters the land.  Here, Moses asks the children of Israel to fear (respect) the ways of God as they enter into their new reality.  It is also a moment of transition, Moses in front of all Israel hands the reign's over to Joshua, and both men in front off the entire community enter the Tent of Meeting where the presence of God reveals itself as a cloud. Both men stand before God as a new moment of time enters into Israel's reality with both the death of Moses and actually entering into the land they have dreamed about for 40 years.  This parasha is always read on Shabbat Shuvah (Shabbat of Return) because we too are about to enter into a moment of time with Yom Kippur, and continuing with the same theme we have been in since the beginning of Elul, we reflect.  But this Shabbat is different because we are in the midst of the 10 days of awe, and more so than any time of year, we seek to partner with God and plead our case to continue to do for the next year.  In order to do so, however, we must return to a right relationship with God and others, hence the shabbat of return.  We also read that Moses "wrote" the Torah and gave it to the Priests. The Hebrew word, ויכתב, is both past and future. In other words, the vav is called a reversing vav and makes it a past event, whereas the yud make it a future one.  Or, what happens in the past continues to guide us in the future, thus the same mindset the children of Israel we asked to embrace as they entered the land of promise is also being asked of us as we enter these days of awe and teshuva; seeking higher and better ways in all things. There is no shame is fixing what is broken, growth is a mixture humility and tenacity, as it takes both.