“...AWBLW TACL DWE LKWA AL OWYH YKNA HNw OYRsEW HAM IB OHLA RMAYW„
“He said to them, “I am one hundred and twenty years old today; I can no longer go out and come in...”” (Devarim 31:2)
As the Torah winds to a close, Moshe Rabbeinu continued to give his last words of wisdom and guidance to the Jewish People. The Gemara learns from this that the years of the righteous are complete, and Moshe died on the day he was born, the seventh of Adar.
Some commentaries point out that though Moshe used the word, “today,” it was not actually his final day on earth, as Hashem said to him, “your day of death is approaching,” but Moshe was intimating to them that his end was near. He was reassuring them that they would be well-cared for by Yehoshua, and that they should not be sad about his death for he had lived a full life and was now outliving his usefulness.
The day when Moshe passed from this earth was indeed coming, but that didn’t bother Moshe and he didn’t want it to bother the Jewish People. He wanted them to have some warning or inkling that it was imminent, so he said these words to them. But why the focus on his birthday? Yes, we learn from this the fullness of years, that the righteous are given full years, from day to day, but is there more here than meets the eye?
We know that Moshe set aside cities of refuge in the Trans-Jordan territory, even though they would not become effective until the Jews entered the Land of Israel. He wanted to do whatever he could, even though he knew he would not enter the land.
Similarly, Dovid HaMelech prepared land and materials to build the Bais HaMikdash, though Hashem had told him he would not be the one to build it, but rather his son Shlomo would do so. Nevertheless, Dovid did whatever he could while he still lived.
This, then, is what Moshe wanted to convey to the Jewish People. Today I am one hundred and twenty years old. I cannot do what I once could, for Hashem has decreed that I not cross the Jordan into the Land of Israel. But, though my life will end soon, I am yet alive!
Moshe was telling us that as long as we have the chance to do something, to achieve, grow, and accomplish, we should take that moment and use it to the fullest. Each day is a storage house, and we should fill it with good things, like Torah, mitzvos, and efforts to come closer to Hashem.
Today is a powerful word. It holds promise and opportunity and should not be wasted. Even if the end is in sight, right now it isn’t here, and you should not give up the possibilities you have to add to it and make it even fuller. Moshe was saying, “I know I don’t have much time left, and I’m not going to waste it. Neither should you!”
It’s told that Rabbi Yisrael Salanter z”l once noticed an elderly shoe-maker working late into the night by the light of a small flickering flame. R’ Yisrael approached him, and after engaging in conversation, eventually registered his criticism that the man was too focused on work and making money.
The old Jew understood that it looked as if work had overtaken his life but he replied matter-of-factly, “As long as the candle is burning there’s still time to work and repair!”
When R’ Yisrael heard these words, they went into his heart like an arrow. Here, he came to offer a rebuke, and he was struck with such a powerful aphorism in disguise. He was heard for weeks afterwards pacing in his room crying and repeating the words, “As long as the candle is burning there is still time to work and repair.”
We have limited time on earth to do what we are sent to do. We must make the most of it.
©2025 – J. Gewirtz
