I don’t know if you’ve been in the position of a chief executive building a very successful company from scratch and being told by the board that you’ve come to your last day.
And Hashem said to Moshe, “Behold your days are approaching (for you) to die” [Devarim 31:14]
The moment has been coming for some time but now here it is. You’ve identified your successor
“Behold, you are [about to] lie with your forefathers, and this nation will rise up and stray after the deities of the nations of the land, into which they are coming. And they will forsake Me and violate My covenant which I made with them.” (Devarim 31:16)
The Hebrew name of today's Sidra means he went. In its number of verses, it is the shortest Sidra of the year, but it is read on its own only rarely, when Yom Kippur falls on either Wednesday or Thursday.
Vayelech is often read in tandem with last week’s sedra Nitzavim. This year they are read separately. The Haftara is the rare Vayelech, from Hosea, Joel and Micah. Hosea reminds us that if we sincerely return to God, he will always forgive and accept us, which is the underlying theme of today - Shabbat Shuva.
