Moses went and spoke these things to all of Israel. (Devarim, 31:1)
According to Kabbalistic works, the title of Parsha Vayeilech, which means and he walked (referring to Moshe), is an allusion to our ability, as earthly beings, to walk. In contrast, tradition tells us that angels can only stand still, because they have only one leg, which is why we stand with our feet together when we recite the Kedusha during prayers - to behave as angels. This distinction also explains why many of our sources say that angels are not governed by halacha - jewish law. The word halacha derives from the same root meaning, to walk. Halacha applies to humans who walk through life, and guides our walking. Angels, on the other hand, are static, heaven-bound creatures who don’t engage in the earthly activities guided by halacha.
Who if I cried out would hear me among the angels’ hierarchies? - Rilke
At first glance it might seem strange then that we are reading Vayeilech on the Shabbat of resting, Shabbat Shuva. After all, Shuva which is the first word of the haftorah in this week’s reading, asks the Jewish people to return to God, and is a word that derives from the same root as Shabbat, which means to rest – the opposite of walking. So should we walk or should we rest this week?
But this timing does makes sense if we consider the true nature of resting on Shabbat. It’s not a day simply defined by the absence of work, nor should the day be devoid of activity. Our rest on Shabbat is meant to enable activities that complement the work we do the other six days of the week. We rest from our daily work routines so that we have the space in time to contemplate how we live our lives. Otherwise, we would move through our weeks in mindless distraction, without making meaningful time for context and direction. This is especially true in our contemporary world of technology, filled with chronic distraction, by email, text, phone, and social media.
This Shabbat, more than any other, is the week to ask ourselves, How do we want to be, how do we want to walk (vayeilech)
Each week Shabbat is a day of intimate connection with God and the world, a time when we don’t just contemplate intellectual concepts, but also our own relationships, goals, and emotions. In the same vein, Teshuva is an activity focused on our relationship with God and how that applies to our daily life throughout the entire year. That’s why Shabbat and Teshuva share a root word to rest. Each Shabbat we rest from our weekly distractions to focus on the larger picture of our week, and each year we rest from our year of distraction to do Teshuva and focus on the larger picture of how we are walking through our life.
Shabbat shuva is different from all other shabbatot during the year because it distinguishes us from the angels. It is an opportunity for us to use our advantage as frail, vulnerable, walking human beings to connect with God emotionally, in ways not available to us the rest of the year.
This Shabbat, more than any other, is the week to ask ourselves, How do we want to walk (vayeilech), so to speak – How do we want to use our uniquely human free will and our human emotions that angels lack, to relate to God in ways that angels cannot imagine?
If we take these questions to heart on this Shabbat Shuva, we’ll enter Yom Kippur with the right frame of mind and take advantage of the holiday’s singular opportunity to connect to and restore our relationship with God.
Copyright 2022 by Eliezer Hirsch