Vayelech: The Next Phase

The word that starts this parsha, and the word it  is named for is וַיֵּ֖לֶךְ, vayelech.  This  font does not capture the picture of the word. Lamed is the letter that extends the highest above all other and the end chaf is the letter that goes down the lowest. Calligraphically it is a full stop, a barrier, a word of great significance. The word is translated: and (Moshe) went. 

Rashi's comment on the word is quite brief, possibly cryptic: 

וילך משה. וגו':

This וגו is a contraction. The standard meaning is et cetera. What could that mean? Why would Rashi, so sparing in his words, so selective in his comments, write etc.? In a sense, every vayelech implies an et cetera, a series of events that follow. Vayelec, like its calligraphy implies mean the end of one phase and, hence, the beginning of another. 

Another fundamental meaning of vigomer, the implied word of the contraction  וגו, is completion. Rashi could mean that now Moshe is completing his mission, his life is coming to an end, Moshe an Israel are going on to the next phase. This is the essence of the interpretation of  Ibn Ezra and Ramban. 

Sforno brings other examples vayelech used to mean that an individual (or group) roused himself to action. He brings the example of Moshe's father marrying his mother despite the barriers and the Egyptian edict of infanticide

 כמו וילך איש מבית לוי

like a man from the tribe of Levi arose.

The word vayelech here  is not related to physical travel,  it means that an action of consequence was undertaken, there will be an et cetera following, anticipate a completion. 

This is a time of transition. The seasons are changing. It is a new year. The new journey begins. The possibilities are dazzling. The dangers are terrifying.  

The vayelech of the parsha sets out guard rails. It delivers guidelines  in the form of the Torah. It introduces a song that will not be forgotten, full of references to future tragedies and ultimate triumph. Every generation will recognize itself in this song. Vayelech tells us to awaken and take the step. 

My son, Yitzchok Moredchai, Jack, told me an interesting insight into the Torah. The first two chapters, Genesis and Noah, deal primarily with the world and humanity as a whole. In the third parsha, לך לך,  Lech Lecha, it begins to deal with individuals.  In lech lecha, the story of Abraham begins. 

Today's parsha, Vayelech, is the third from the last. The root word, לך, that full stop, that et cetera, is the same.  In Lech Lecha, Abraham does not know exactly where he is going, but his faith allows Gd to take him on a tour of the promised Land, and his faith convinces Gd to bestow the blessings of great nation and an inheritance upon him. The remainder of the torah is Abraham's et cetera. 

Vayelech introduces Moshe's last day. Moshe is passing out of the scene and he is leaving a legacy, an et cetera. Now the Torah story is coming to a completion, but its message continues. The story moves from the adventures of Moshe to the saga of the Jewish people. 

Soon, we will start the Torah again, anticipating another completion.

גמר חתימה טובה, וגו

Gemar Chathimah Tovah, vigomer

My you be sealed for a good (life), etc.