Parashat Vayeilech — And he went
וַיֵּלֶךְ
Vayeilech (וַיֵּלֶךְ) means "and he went" — taken, as every parashah name is, from the portion's opening words in the Hebrew.
The Readings
Torah Deuteronomy 31:1-30 Read →
Haftarah Isaiah 55:6-56:8 Read →
B'rit Chadashah 2 Timothy 3:14-4:8 Read →
What Happens in Vayeilech
And Moshe went — vayeilech — and spoke these words to all Yisrael: the shortest portion in the Torah, thirty verses, is a farewell in motion, an old man walking through the camp to say goodbye. I am a hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in; and YHVH has said to me, you shall not go over this Yarden. The succession is spoken plainly: YHVH your God — He will go over before you... and Yehoshua — he shall go over before you. Then the charge that generations of the fearful have carried in their pockets: be strong and of good courage, do not fear; for YHVH your God, He is the one who goes with you; He will not fail you nor forsake you. Moshe calls Yehoshua in the sight of all Israel and lays the same words on him — and YHVH adds His own commissioning at the tent of meeting: I will be with you.
Then Moshe writes this Torah and delivers it to the priests and elders with the ordinance of hakhel — assemble: at the end of every seven years, in the year of release, at Sukkot, when all Yisrael comes to appear before YHVH, you shall read this Torah before all Yisrael in their ears. Assemble the people — men, women, and little ones, and the stranger within your gates — that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear YHVH your God... and that their children, who have not known, may hear and learn to fear YHVH your God. The whole nation, down to the toddlers, gathered every seven years to hear the covenant read aloud: Israel's constitution renewed by public listening.
But the farewell carries no illusions. YHVH tells Moshe plainly what is coming: behold, you are about to sleep with your fathers, and this people will rise up and go astray after the foreign gods of the land... and forsake Me and break My covenant. My anger shall be kindled... and I will hide My face from them. Against that day, heaven prescribes a strange safeguard: now therefore write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Yisrael; put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for Me against the children of Yisrael... for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed. A song, because songs survive when sermons are forgotten. Moshe writes it the same day and teaches it; the completed Torah scroll is placed beside the ark of the covenant as a witness; and the portion ends with Moshe summoning the assembly for the song itself: gather to me all the elders of your tribes... that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to witness against them.
Main Themes
He will not leave you nor forsake you Strength and courage passed to the successor Hakhel — the whole nation hearing the Torah together The song written as a witness The Torah beside the ark
Key Events
· Moshe's announcement at one hundred twenty
· The charge to Yehoshua before all Israel
· The Torah written and given to the priests
· The seventh-year hakhel assembly commanded
· YHVH foretells the coming unfaithfulness
· The scroll placed beside the ark as a witness
Key People
Moshe Yehoshua The priests and elders
Key Verses
Deuteronomy 31:6 Read →
“Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or scared of them, for the LORD your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you.””
Deuteronomy 31:8 Read →
“The LORD himself is who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be discouraged.””
Deuteronomy 31:12 Read →
“Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and the foreigners who are within your gates, that they may hear, learn, fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law,”
All 54 Torah portions → · Open the Torah Portion tool in Hebrew Explorer