V'Zot HaBerachah

V'Zot HaBerachah, VeZos HaBerachah, VeZot Haberakha, V'Zeis Habrocho, V'Zaus Haberocho, V'Zois Haberuchu, Wazoth Habborocho, or Zos Habrocho (וְזֹאת הַבְּרָכָה‎—Hebrew for "and this is the blessing," the first words in the parashah) is the 54th and final weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה‎, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the 11th and last in the Book of Deuteronomy.

[16] In the third reading, Moses called on God to bless the Tribe of Joseph with dew, the yield of the sun, crops in season, the bounty of the hills, and the favor of the Presence in the burning bush.

1 Chronicles 23:3–5 reports that of 38,000 Levite men aged 30 and up, 24,000 oversaw the work of the Temple in Jerusalem, 6,000 were officers and magistrates, 4,000 were gatekeepers, and 4,000 praised God with instruments and song.

And 2 Chronicles 5:12 reports at the inauguration of Solomon's Temple, Levites sang dressed in fine linen, holding cymbals, harps, and lyres, to the east of the altar, and with them 120 priests blew trumpets.

[46] The characterization of Moses as the "servant of the Lord" (עֶבֶד-יְהוָה‎, eved-Adonai) in Deuteronomy 34:5 is echoed in the haftarah for the parashah[47] and is then often repeated in the book of Joshua,[48] and thereafter in 2 Kings[49] and 2 Chronicles.

"[68] The Sifre noted that in Deuteronomy 33:2, Moses began his blessing of the Israelites by first speaking praise for God, not by dealing with what Israel needed first.

The Sifre read in Deuteronomy 33:2 a list of three directions, when it says, "The Lord came from Sinai, and rose from Seir to them; He shined forth from Mount Paran, and He came from Ribeboth-kodesh."

[76] The Midrash and the Talmud differed over which five brothers Joseph presented to Pharaoh in Genesis 47:2, and each source employed the Farewell of Moses in Deuteronomy 33:2–29 to make its argument.

Rabbah bar Mari replied that Rabbi Joḥanan said that they were those whose names were repeated in the Farewell of Moses, Deuteronomy 33:2–29 (and thus the mightier of the brothers).

"[79] The Gemara counted Deuteronomy 33:5, "And He was King in Jeshurun," among only three verses in the Torah that indisputably refer to God's Kingship, and thus are suitable for recitation on Rosh Hashanah.

The Midrash taught that it on this account that Deuteronomy 33:8 praises Aaron, saying, "And of Levi he said: 'Your Thummim and your Urim be with your holy one, whom you proved at Massah, with whom you strove at the waters of Meribah.

Then Nahshon ben Aminadab stepped forward and went into the sea first, praying in the words of Psalm 69:2–16, "Save me O God, for the waters come into my soul.

[113] A Midrash read Deuteronomy 34:7, "His eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated," to teach that the radiant countenance that God had given Moses still remained with him.

[116] Noting the absence of Simeon from Deuteronomy 33, Kugel explained that some see a midcourse correction in Israel's list of tribes in Jacob's adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh in Genesis 48:1–6.

Kugel noted that when Moses blessed the tribe of Levi at the end of his life in Deuteronomy 33:10, he said: "Let them teach to Jacob Your ordinances, and to Israel Your laws; may they place incense before You, and whole burnt offerings on Your altar."

Kugel reported that many scholars believe that Deuteronomy 33:10 dated to a far earlier era, and thus may thus may indicate that all Levites had been considered fit priests at a very early time.

Thus some scholars consider the account of the death of Moses in Deuteronomy 34:5–7 to have been composed by the Jahwist (sometimes abbreviated J) who wrote possibly as early as the 10th century BCE.

[125] Some Jews read the words "he executed the righteousness of the Lord, and His ordinances with Israel" from Deuteronomy 33:21 as they study chapter 5 of Pirkei Avot on a Sabbath between Passover and Rosh Hashanah.

[133] Joshua told his officers to have the Israelites prepare food, for within three days they were to cross the Jordan to possess the land that God was giving them.

This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate therein day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then you shall make your ways prosperous, and then you shall have good success."

But Joshua 4:12–13 reports that "about 40,000 ready armed for war passed on in the presence of the Lord to battle" from Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh—or fewer than 3 in 10 of those counted in Numbers 26.

[163] The Rabbis taught in a Baraita that four things require constant application of energy: (1) Torah study, (2) good deeds, (3) prayer, and (4) one's worldly occupation.

In support of the first two, the Baraita cited God's injunction in Joshua 1:7: "Only be strong and very courageous to observe to do according to all the law that My servant Moses enjoined upon you."

Rabbi Ishmael replied that since Joshua 1:8 says, "This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate therein day and night," one might think that one must take this injunction literally (and study Torah every waking moment).

Rava would ask the Rabbis (his disciples) not to appear before him during Nisan (when corn ripened) and Tishrei (when people pressed grapes and olives) so that they might not be anxious about their food supply during the rest of the year.

It is repeated in the Prophets in Joshua 1:8, "This book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate therein day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then you shall make your ways prosperous, and then you shall have good success."

Rabbi Joḥanan taught that it is forbidden, however, to teach this to people who through ignorance are careless in the observance of the laws (as it might deter them from further Torah study).

Rabbi Ishmael replied by reading to Ben Damah the verse Joshua 1:8, "This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate therein day and night."

A Baraita was taught in the School of Rabbi Ishmael, however, that one should not consider the words of the Torah as a debt that one should desire to discharge, for one is not at liberty to desist from them.

"[174] The Gemara attributes to Solomon (or others say Benaiah) the view that the word only (רַק‎, rak) in Joshua 1:18 limited the application of the death penalty mandated by the earlier part of the verse.