Our Leacy? Moses Looks But Cannot Go: Pinchas

Try and imagine what it was like for Moses. The Israelites are close to completing their trek. One can only imagine the physical and mental and spiritual toll that Moses has endured. He knows he is not going to be permitted to enter that “promised land”. But in this week’s portion (Numbers 27:12-14) we read God telling Moses to go up on the heights that overlook the land: “When you have seen it, you too shall be gathered to your kin”. God then reminds Moses that he “disobeyed” God’s commandment. Imagine what Moses must have felt. He gazes upon the goal of the Exodus and knows that no matter what, he cannot go. The portion immediately follows up with the selection of Joshua as leader, so in a few verses Moses gets to “see” the land, is reminded of his error and “ordains” his successor. These few verses are often overlooked by the high drama that is contained in the portion. There is the plague which follows Pinchas’s murder of Zimri and Cozbi and the powerful tale of the daughters of Zelophechad, and another detailed overview of the calendar. No doubt in your weekly Torah study, these stories will become a focus, yet I could not help but think of Moses.

This scene of Moses is not just a few verses in this larger story. It really sheds a light on what so many of us are experiencing. Growing older is a series of major transitions. If we are granted the gift of years, we will experience so many changes, both physical and spiritual. The spiritual changes are often subtle and emerge quietly, sometimes within a moment when we come to realize the reality of our mortality and that now, that future that is often discussed, has a finite limit for us. We cannot go where our children and grandchildren will go, as much as we may wish to, we come to understand that we cannot. Thus, a message that we may draw from these few verses in Numbers 27 has to do with the issue of legacy. The question becomes what of us do wish those we care for to take into their future!

This idea of legacy we can see within the prayer service. The first paragraph of the Amidah prayer speaks to the God of the Patriarchs and, in liberal settings, the Matriarchs. It is a reminder that generations come and go, that we are part of ours, that we inherit what those who came before us created and that how we choose to live, and act will help determine what we leave for those who come after us. This, of course, speaks to the concept of memory which, as you know, is so fundamental to Jewish thought and practice. How we wish to be remembered does impact how we live these years, and we have a fear that at some time, we will not even be remembered. There was a very human thought on this memory-legacy duality in a recent op-ed piece in the New York Times. The author, Roger Rosenblatt, wrote of the impact of the death of three of his closest friends and how they were remembered. His conclusion spoke of things like kindness, pleasure in work and helping others. His conclusion was that immortality was found in a legacy of love. . One can only imagine what was going through the mind of Moses as he stood on those heights looking at the land, he knew he would never experience. He could look but not go. Did he find comfort in having led the Israelites to the edge of that land that God had promised, did he know that his legacy was that he helped forge a nation? What shall your legacy be?

Shabbat shalom

Rabbi Richard F. Address