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Standing & Walking
I am not standing.
I am not a head of anything.
I am not an officer.
I have no tribe.
I am not an elder.
“You stand this day all of you before Hashem your God; your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, even all the men of Israel.”
“Moshe went [presumably, having walked] and spoke these words to all Israel.”
These are the words that start out the two parshiyot (Torah portions) for this week.
In Parshat Vayelech, Moshe says “Be strong and courageous, don’t be afraid and don’t be scared of them, for Hashem your God, it is He who goes with you; He will not fail you or forsake you.””
He is talking to the people about going into eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel).
I am looking at it in another light.
Be strong and be courageous, for there are going to be a lot of roadblocks in your life.
It is going to be frustrating.
It is going to feel debilitating.
HaShem is with me.
He will not forsake me.
Even when I thought that He had, it was a blessing in disguise.
He saved me.
So, though I cannot stand on my own, and no, I cannot walk anymore, the message that I am taking from this portion is the same- do not stray from Him.
He has got my back.
The final words of the parsha are described as a song, and so I will keep on dancing to the beat.