In the last parsha of the Torah, V'Zot HaBracha, Moshe dies. But what matters is not that he died- rather, the way he died. Moshe approached God alone. There were no adoring crowds. No family surrounding him. It was just the man and his Maker. And this is something that will happen to us all. We will all, ultimately, approach God. The question to be answered is simply this: have we lived a life that we are proud to show to God?

Before he dies, Moshe is called eved Hashem, servant of God. This is the highest compliment a mortal can receive. It means a person was successful in acting as a channel to bring God's presence to this world, and to perform God's will. As we end our series of podcasts here, my hope is that you too will aspire to be and ultimately become an eved Hashem. I hope you find God and cling to Him, and I hope He helps you when you struggle. It has been my pleasure to learn with you, and I hope you continue to learn as we begin the cycle of Torah reading again- with Bereishit.

This week's parsha, Haazinu, is actually a song! Moshe wanted to make sure that the core ideas of Judaism would be accessible to everyone, whether or not they were able to read. In this song, we focus on some important ideas. These include:

• The heaven and earth are witnesses to this song, to demonstrate that it is timeless.
• God has been involved with the Jews as His people throughout our history, and we owe Him our gratitude.
• We will ultimately sin and betray God, and God will punish us.
• There will come a time where God will redeem us, and we can always connect with Him again.

In this week's parsha, Vayelech, we learn:

• It was important to God that everyone attend Hakhel, the public Torah reading after every Shemitah cycle, including the little children. This memorable experience would bring them closer to Him.
• Even when it seems like God is distant and hiding His face, He is still there. He never truly leaves us.
• A good way to pass down important information and ideas is in song, which is why Moshe decided to write a song (which we will learn more about in next week's parsha.)