Parasha Debarim
“These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel in the desert, (...) in the plain, opposite Suf.” (Devarim-Deut 1,1)
The book of Devarim is called “the book of reproach”, because Moshe, at the end of his days,
He rebukes the people of Israel so that they correct and improve their actions.
And what did Moses talk to them about?
This is what the verse says (Devarim 1:1): “in the desert, in the plain, opposite Suf”, hinting to them with this the moment in which the person is taken to his grave. And since the person knows that he will ultimately die, therefore he must live in the concept of “in front of Suf” (in Hebrew suf can be read as sof – 'end'), That is, he must always have his end and goal before him, and he must always remember the day of death. For when a person remembers On the day of death, and she knows that she is dust, and to dust she will return, the mere knowledge of this awakens in her the will to do teshuvah. As the Gemara says (Berachot 5a): “Let the person always make the Instinct of Good angry so that it fights against the Evil Instinct, and thus prevent it from happening make him sin. If he managed to defeat him, good; […] but if not,
that he remembers the day of death, on which he will render accounts of all his actions.”
We see that remembering the day of death leads a person to take stock of their spiritual life; when they pause in the hustle and bustle of routine life and meditate on their actions, they distance themselves from the affections of the Evil Inclination and from all worldly pleasures.
These are the words of the Tana (Avot 3:1): “Observe three things and you will not transgress: know where you came from, where you are going, and to whom you will give an account. Where did you come from? From a
“stinking drop. Where are you going? To a place of dust, bugs, and worms.”
Meditation on this brings a person back to goodness. Obviously, a person doesn't know how long he or she will live, so he or she has an obligation to polish his or her soul at all times, and “prepare provisions for the journey” with Torah, the fulfillment of mitzvot and the performance of acts of kindness. As our Sages of blessed memory said (Shabbat 153a):
“Rabbi Eliezer says: 'Repent one day before your death.' The students asked Rabbi Eliezer: 'But does a person know when he will die?' He said to them: 'All the more reason he should repent today, for perhaps he will die tomorrow; thus all his days will be will have lived in regret.'
"Remembering the day of our departure" It's certainly a topic that many of us don't like to touch on, but besides being something that we are sure will come someday, also as our sages say "meditating on it will make us reconsider and return to teshuvah"!
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