Parshat Va'etchanan - Moses says goodbye, plus, a beatboxed shema!

I'm going to cross the Jordan I said, I'm going to cross the River Jordan One of these days, hallelujah Parashat Vaetchanan begins on the east side of the Jordan River where the People of Israel are camped in order to prepare themselves to cross the river and enter the land. Moses is still with them and takes the opportunity to review the journey and reiterate the laws of the Torah. The whole book of Dvarim or Deuteronomy, in fact is Moses's valedictory speech. God has told Moses that he will not cross the Jordan with the rest of the people. With the land so close, Moses appeals to God to reverse the sentence of death in exile. There is something tragically human about Moses's attempt to convince God to postpone his death. Like anyone, he first denies the reality of death and then tries to bargain with God for a different outcome. But this isn't just anyone facing his last days. This is Moses, the greatest prophet with whom God spoke face to face, who led the Israelites to freedom, who brought down the Ten Commandments from Sinai. Why does Moses die just outside the Promised Land? According to the book of Numbers, Moses's fatal mistake was to draw water from a rock by hitting it twice, when God told Moses to speak to the rock. According to Deuteronomy, the people are to blame for insisting that Moses send spies into the land and then believing their negative report. Perhaps Moses must die simply because he belongs to the generation destined to die in the wilderness. But there is more to it than these reasons. The great prophets and visionaries never do seem to get into the Promised Land. They envision the next phase of history, but they don't live to see it. The dreams of these prophets come into being through 'Joshuas,' successors with a different sets of skills that can make dreams into realities. God assures Moses that Joshua will lead the people across the Jordan River and settle them in the land. Moses climbs a peak above the Jordan Valley and looks to the mountains in the north, the deserts in the south, and westward all the way toward the sea. He sees not only the geography of the land, but also the long history of the people. Most importantly, he sees future generations interpreting these Five Books and realizes that it is through them that he will gain immortality. The Children of Israel and God are linked in an endless loop of forgetting and remembering. There is also love between the Children of Israel and God. God saved the people from oppression, fed them in the wilderness and will soon bring them across to a land flowing with milk and honey. In return they are asked to love God with all their heart, with all their soul, and all their might. God's words are with them always: at home and on the road, when lying down and standing, on their arms and on their foreheads, on the doorposts of their homes, and on their gates. Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad. Producer: Sarah Lefton Animation Director: Nick Fox-Gieg Animation: Colleen MacIsaac Editorial Director: Matthue Roth Theme Music: Tim Cosgrove Written and narrated by Rachel Havrelock Beatbox and Harmonica by Yuri Lane Sound Recording: Hyim