Vizoth Habracha: terminal planting

The last parsha is the bracha from Moshe to the tribes of Israel.  Who is Moshe? What is a bracha ?   

Moshe  is the author of the Torah.  The Torah is written by a great man, the greatest prophet, a man with the unique experience of facing Gd.

 Moshe was chosen by a combination of Gd and circumstances to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and generate the great story of liberation, the story of redemption and the story of hope that precedes this final bracha. 

 Moshe transmitted  The Law, the rules that cannot be disregarded, the ways of peace, the service of the Lrd.

 Moshe admits that he is flawed and therefore cannot enter the Promised Land.  He is mortal and will soon die.  He must cap his words.  This is the bracha. 

Bracha is usually translated as blessing.  This bracha wishes the (mentioned) tribes well.  Reuven is blessed with continuity and inclusion in the nation.  Many tribes are blessed with strength and triump;, others with wealth; Shimon is not mentioned  explicitly. 

Bracha has another, related meaning.  When a branch from a tree or vine is replanted in the earth and generates renewed growth: that is also bracha.  The dying Moshe is replanting the tribes, as they are about to enter the fertile earth of the Promised land.  

In the coda, the 12 verses after the death of Moshe. we are told that the people heeded  Joshua, doing what the Lrd had commanded Moshe.  Joshua had the bracha of Moshe, he was the replanting of the legal authority.  But Moshe was the force behind the law. 

As the law has been transmitted through the generations, it has been replanted in different soils and it has responded accordingly.  But the DNA  of the law is the torah of Moshe and it is still sprouting