VZot HaBracha Excerpts

וזאת הברכה

Simchas Torah Sameach

Dancing on Simchat Torah?! That is not dancing. You are walking in a circle. Pathetic... You have to lift a leg...Though, it is great seeing Max walking again. Beautiful hip. Only blessings and new teeth...

The end of the Torah. We finally got here. The dancing is over. And where are we? 2pm on a Tuesday afternoon. I am tired...We can do the Hakafot quicker....The last Parsha of the Torah? Where are we? Right where we began. No improvement. Nobody hear even knows that Moshe was on Har Nevo. Now we have to read the Torah again...Because you don't remember it Bernie...Then read the English translation. The translation of H's word, given to Moshe. NOt as good as hearing it in the correct language...Not the King James version. The Hirsch edition...

The ending is here. As all endings, it appears to be sad.

(34:4) H' tells Moshe, 'The land that I swore to Avraham..."to your offspring, I will give it," I will let you see it, and you will not cross over to there.' Kind of like the time the Simchovitz family had a beautiful cake they were saving for the party the next night. We saw it at the Friday night dinner....They didn't serve it.

He takes Moshe there to tease him. Kind of like the time the Shwatzmans invited the community to see their knew house...You didn't even have snacks....

(34:6-7) Moshe dies there. Nobody knows where H' buried Moshe. There were some theories he just wanted to get away from the complaining. He took too much complaining from the Jews in the desert. He didn't want to have to deal with them arguing about how there is too much traffic because of construction...Another falafel place opens and more people complain...People get a new house and show it off, and everybody wonders why they were invited. Fighting over what is really considered Israeli dancing. Is it a walk in a circle or a hop with a step back?...Elections.

Moshe dies. 'His eye did not dim and his vigor did not diminish.' He died at 120 in great health...Hit the gym Bernie. You are 86, and you look old. Max on the other hand. The prosthetic is looking good on you. Though, it is like showing skin. You should also cover your left leg in shul.

Moshe doesn't just go. He goes knowing he did good and he did wrong. H' treats his old age with honor.

(34:1-3) Moshe goes up to Har Nevo. He sees all of Israel. Mount Nevo has a great view. Good way to die. Everybody is looking for a view. Finally, Moshe gets it. People's whole lives are based on making enough money to get an apartment with a view.

Moshe lived a good life. Full in every way. That is a great life. And he ended up dying with a great view. His physical life was quite fulfilling....Yet, it is a punishment to not enter Israel. And the shul trip to Israel last year only had two people join...Our shul is not funded by Birthright. You can pay for stuff as a Jew. Not all of Jewish life is a non-profit. It's not all a Go Fund Me. You pay for your trips. You pay dues Menachem.

Moshe dies. Nobody knows where he is buried. (34:8) Even so, they mourn his death. You mourn the death of a Tzadik.

(34:10-12) There was 'no prophet that arouse in Israel again like Moshe...did all the signs and wonders that H' sent him to do in Egypt...and the strong hand and great power that Moshe did in the eyes of all of Israel.' You mourn that loss.

Sometimes we can't handle the loss. Sometimes we can't handle the leader. Frank couldn't handle the flipped over Torah Hagba today....You see a great leader. You see their actions.You mourn that loss.

(34:9) Yet, our next leader is already there, ready to take over. Yehoshua. He is 'filled with the spirit of wisdom,  because Moshe put his hands upon him.' Wisdom comes with responsibility. It comes with trust. It comes when there is a passing from generation to generation.

Because Moshe gave him the leadership, 'the children of Israel listened to him.'

Nobody gave me the rabbiship here. The pulpit was barren. I had to start from scratch. The community didn't accept the leadership. The mantel was me...

Yehoshua didn't have to be a Moshe. Moshe was with him. He passed on his connection to H.' Moshe's wonders are passed onto Yehoshua in the role as leader. Moshe supports him, and that support is tantamount to accomplishment. You mourn the loss of greatness. Even so, we keep the greatness in this world when we respect those who follow it.

The question is: What are we passing onto our next generation? You all don't even know how to dance on Simchat Torah. There is no tradition. No Mesorah to the walking in a circle without touching the guy in front of you. When did that stop? They will have to figure out their own dances...Bernie is too old to teach them anything...then get in shape. Max is working at it. You can't be a leader in war and all out of it. 

There is no tradition to not feeding people when they come to your home. 

Moshe goes out a leader. Yehoshua comes in a leader. That is tradition. Knowing the Torah is tradition Bernie. And nobody has a decent view.

Leaders don't have to be a Moshe, but they do need to accept their connection to him.

Just like in this shul, the ending is the beginning of Yehoshua's reign and the Jews going into Israel. It is just a new chapter. But let us not forget the chapters in our lives that come beforehand, so that we can have their zchut and be connected to Moshe. At least if we learn, we can have that...Learn Pirkei Avoth. It is there...Because you have accomplished nothing yourselves.

Light a Yahrzeit candle...

Why did I give a speech? Not tradition on Simchas Torah? You needed to hear about tradition, Bernie.

***These are excerpts from the sermon. For the sermon in its entirety, come see Rabbi David Kilimnick perform in Jerusalem. David also tours as a Maggid around the world, with his comic-in-residence program with very few stories (see www.davidkilimnick.com).