• Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • JOIN
  • MEMBER PORTAL
  • DONATE
    • MAKE A DONATION
    • CREATE A NAMED ENDOWED FUND
    • SECURE OUR FUTURE
    • LIFE & LEGACY
    • THE TEMPLE APPEAL
  • PAY ONLINE
5101 US-42 • LOUISVILLE, KY 40241 • (502) 423-1818
The Temple - Congregation Adath Israel Brith Sholom
  • About
    • Our History
    • Our Clergy
      • Rabbi David
      • Cantor Lauren
      • Rabbi Diamond​
      • Rabbi Rooks
      • Rabbi Rapport
    • Our Staff
    • Our Leadership
      • Committees
    • Our Campus
      • Archives & Museum
      • Gift Shop
      • Temple Library
      • Temple Treasures
    • The Temple Cemetery
    • Bulletin
    • FAQs
    • Join Us
  • Spiritual Life
    • Shabbat Services
    • Jewish Holidays
    • Life Cycle Events
    • Becoming Jewish
    • Shir Chadash
    • Caring Rabbi
  • Learning & Living
    • Adults
      • Monday Classes
      • Temple Scholars
      • Torah Study
      • Senior University
    • Children
      • Trager Early Childhood Education Center
      • The Temple Religious School
      • B’nei Mitzvah Program
      • GUCI
    • College
    • Torah Tidbit
  • Community
    • *New* Member Portal
    • Member Directory
    • Brotherhood
    • Sisterhood/WRJ
    • Young Adult Group
    • LGBTQ Equality
    • Chavurat Shalom
    • Boy Scout Troop 30
    • Volunteering
  • Events
    • Event Calendar
    • Event Highlights & Pictures
    • Live Streaming
  • Contact
    • Have a Question?
    • New to Louisville?
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

Tag Archive for: וַיֵּלֶךְ

Vayeilech – וַיֵּלֶךְ (Deuteronomy 31:1–30)

September 30, 2022/in Torah Tidbit

This Week’s Torah Portion: Vayeilech – וַיֵּלֶךְ (Deuteronomy 31:1–30)

Parshat Vayeilech continues with the various events that happen during Moses’ last day of life. Moses is moments from death. God warns that life following his death will not be easy for the Israelites. They will eventually stray, and worship false idols- other gods-to the consequence of God distancing Godself from Israel. God gives Moses a final instruction to write down “et HaShirah hazot” – write down this song, so that it might be a teaching and serve as God’s witness to the people of Israel. What is this particular song? A few verses later Moses clarifies:

לָקֹ֗חַ אֵ֣ת סֵ֤פֶר הַתּוֹרָה֙ הַזֶּ֔ה וְשַׂמְתֶּ֣ם אֹת֔וֹ מִצַּ֛ד אֲר֥וֹן בְּרִית־יְהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם וְהָיָה־שָׁ֥ם בְּךָ֖ לְעֵֽד׃

“Take this book of Teaching, this Torah…”

The song God instructs Moses to write down for the Israelites is The Torah. This suggests that Torah is more than a collection of our beginnings, our history, and our formation as a people, it is a Shirah- a song, or a poem. Rabbi James Jacobson-Maisels explains[1] that song is the answer to the people’s straying afar. “Song here is meant to awaken the people of Israel, to help them reconnect to their essentially pure nature.”

This is the fundamental meaning of Teshuva. For Rav Nachman of Breslov, a lover of song, it is only through this song of faith, this assertion of meaning, hope, and possibility, that one “leaps over the abyss of God’s distance” to encounter the a sense truth and wholenessthat is both God’s and our own. Heschel teaches that the word Tefilah, and the word Shira hold the same number in the mystical genre of gematria. Song is prayer, and prayer is song. When God feels distant, and yes, this happens more than we would like, it is the song of Teshuva- a genuine prayer of both longing and of faith, hope, and that brings us back to our authentic selves.

These verses teach us that Torah is also a poem, or song. More than a book of teachings and collective history, Torah is our song of truth, our learning, and most importantly our most authentic genuine tefilah-prayer. On this Shabbat Shuvah, Shabbat of return, remember that when we feel lost and seek to return we can do so through song, through prayer, and when we have no song or prayer left to give, we can turn to words of Torah: Through it, we can transform the way we live and fully embrace our true nature–our potential to transform ourselves and the world.


[1] https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-song-of-humanity/

Parsha Vayeilech – וַיֵּלֶךְ Torah Summary:

Moses prepares the people for his death and announces that Joshua will succeed him. (31:1–8) Moses instructs the priests and the elders regarding the importance of reading the Torah. (31:9–13) God informs Moses that upon his death, the people will commit idolatry and “many evils and troubles shall befall them.” God tells Moses to teach the people a poem that will “be My witness.” (31:14–30) Vayeilech – וַיֵּלֶךְ

Latest Bulletin

March 2023
March 2023
Download Now!

Latest Stories

  • Annual Hanukkah Dinner 2022December 19, 2022 - 9:00 am
  • Hanukkah LanternsDecember 18, 2022 - 9:00 am
  • Bagels and BelongingDecember 5, 2022 - 10:00 am
  • Religious School Hanukkah ShoppingDecember 5, 2022 - 9:00 am
  • Ben Norton named as member of the Sing Unto God Teen Songleading FellowshipNovember 21, 2022 - 4:26 pm
  • Fill the Freezer Family Mitzvah EventNovember 15, 2022 - 10:46 am
  • Rabbi Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport’s CelebrationMay 24, 2022 - 9:22 am
  • Passover 2022 at The TempleApril 26, 2022 - 12:52 pm
  • The Temple Welcomes Cantor Lauren AdesnikFebruary 24, 2022 - 1:27 pm
  • An Appeal on Behalf of our CommonwealthDecember 14, 2021 - 4:44 pm

Archive

  • March 2023 (3)
  • February 2023 (6)
  • January 2023 (6)
  • December 2022 (11)
  • November 2022 (8)
  • October 2022 (4)
  • September 2022 (5)
  • August 2022 (4)
  • July 2022 (5)
  • June 2022 (4)
  • May 2022 (5)
  • April 2022 (6)
  • March 2022 (4)
  • February 2022 (5)
  • January 2022 (4)
  • December 2021 (7)
  • November 2021 (4)
  • October 2021 (6)
  • September 2021 (4)
  • August 2021 (5)
  • July 2021 (5)
  • June 2021 (4)
  • May 2021 (4)
  • April 2021 (5)
  • March 2021 (6)
  • February 2021 (5)
  • January 2021 (5)
  • December 2020 (5)
  • November 2020 (6)
  • October 2020 (6)
  • September 2020 (6)
  • August 2020 (5)
  • July 2020 (6)
  • June 2020 (7)
  • May 2020 (7)
  • April 2020 (7)
  • March 2020 (5)
  • February 2020 (4)
  • January 2020 (6)
  • December 2019 (8)
  • November 2019 (14)
  • October 2019 (9)
  • September 2019 (6)
  • August 2019 (13)
  • July 2019 (11)
  • June 2019 (14)
  • May 2019 (6)
  • April 2019 (11)
  • March 2019 (15)
  • February 2019 (9)
  • January 2019 (6)
  • December 2018 (10)
  • November 2018 (7)
  • October 2018 (9)
  • September 2018 (3)
  • August 2018 (3)
  • July 2018 (2)
  • June 2018 (3)

GET IN TOUCH

Contact The Temple

5101 US-42, Louisville, KY 40241
(502) 423-1818

templenews@thetemplelouky.org

To contact a Rabbi about a confidential matter, please email CaringRabbi@gmail.com

Kroger Community Rewards
Shop Amazon

HELPFUL LINKS

Join The Temple

New to Louisville?

Register for an Event

Volunteer Opportunities

Religious School

Preschool

URJWhere Jewish Tradition Meets Tomorrow

THE TEMPLE WEEKLY EMAIL

 

Weekly news, right in your inbox

© Copyright 2021 – The Temple | Privacy Policy
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
Scroll to top