Shemini Atzeret

V'Zot Habracha (and this is the blessing)

Deut. 33:1 - 34:12

Today is a triple blessing!! Today is Shemini Atzeret, the eight day - the day following Sukkot. Although the Scriptures command a special day on the eight day, there is no mention of why we are to take this day as a holy day, a day of rejoicing. The ancient Rabbis wrote that Sukkot was such a joyous holiday that God gives us an extra day to celebrate. This idea is in keeping with our theme for the holidays of "Choose God and live". To choose God is to love God. When we love God and delight in being in His presence, we rejoice in every special day that God gives us. Shimini Atzeret reminds us that not only do we delight in Him, but God delights in us as well!! He enjoys our presence. He desires to dwell with us. God has given us an extra day because He loves us.

The second blessing today is that tonight is Simchat Torah, a celebration of completing the yearly cycle of reading through the Torah. Each year on Simchat Torah we read the final Torah portion for the year consisting of Deut. 33-34. This is Moses final blessing on Israel and a description of the death of Moses. There is an interesting relationship between completing the yearly reading of Torah and the death of Moses. Although Moses did not enter the promised land, he did receive a special blessing. As Rabbi Michael Hattin says in his commentary on this portion of Torah, Moshe, God's loyal servant, secures that most sought after of deaths, a death unprecipitated by debilitating illness, unaccompanied by discomfort and suffering, and unburdened by regret or misgivings. He dies by experiencing the so-called 'Divine Kiss,' by which the soul is gently and effortlessly drawn out of the body as 'a hair is drawn out of a bowl of milk' (Talmud Bavli Berakhot 7b). He received a blessing of a peaceful death. In the New Covenant we read that Moses does indeed eventually enter the land of Israel in a resurrected body. Similarly, each year we come to the end of the Torah. However, its end is not a time of sadness, but rather a time of rejoicing. Because like the life of Moses, the Torah never ends. We finish Deuteronomy and immediately we begin again. Moses died but continued to live. Each year the Torah ends but starts again. Tonight we will rejoice in this end and beginning of Torah.

Finally the third blessing of the day - at least for those who are interested, is that it is the beginning of the first subway world series in 44 years between the world champion Yankees and the mets. Shabbat Shalom and enjoy the day!