Parashat Vezot Haberachah (וזאת הברכה) — Devarim 33:1 – 34:12. Read on Simchat Torah (October 4, 2026 outside Israel, October 3 in Israel).
Summary of Parashat Vezot Haberachah
The last parasha of the Torah records the blessing with which Moshe, the man of G-d, blesses the children of Israel before his death. He first recalls G-d’s coming from Sinai and the giving of the Torah: “The Torah that Moshe commanded us is the heritage of the congregation of Yaakov.” Then he blesses the tribes one by one: Reuven, Yehudah, Levi, charged with teaching the laws and serving at the altar, Binyamin, who dwells in safety beside G-d, Yosef, whose land is blessed with all the choicest fruits, Zevulun and Yissachar, Gad, Dan, Naftali and Asher. He concludes: “Happy are you, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by G-d?” Moshe then ascends Mount Nevo, to the summit of the Pisgah, facing Jericho, and G-d shows him the whole land promised to Avraham, to Yitzchak and to Yaakov. Moshe, the servant of G-d, dies there, in the land of Moav, by the word of G-d. He is buried in the valley, and no one knows his burial place to this day. He was one hundred and twenty years old; his eyes had not dimmed and his vigor had not left him. The children of Israel mourn him for thirty days. Yehoshua, filled with the spirit of wisdom, succeeds him. The Torah ends by affirming that no prophet has since arisen in Israel like Moshe, whom G-d knew face to face.
The Themes
- The blessing of the tribes
- The death of Moshe
- A unique prophet
Rav Raphaël Benizri’s Lectures on Vezot Haberachah
There are no lectures by the Rav on this parasha yet. Find all available lectures on the Weekly Parasha page.
A Question for the Shabbat Table
The Torah ends with the death of Moshe before the entry into the Land: can one accomplish a great work without seeing it completed?
← Parashat Haazinu · All the parashiot
Summary by the Pensées Juives editorial team. The Rav’s teachings are in his lectures, linked above.