Moshe Rabbeinu spent the most significant years of his life (the remaining forty years) as the quintessential leader of Klal Yisrael. He was always in the limelight – never alone – except when he died. Moshe left this world alone, without family, students, friends – even Yehoshua, his successor, was not with him. it was just he and, of course, Hashem. As such, he was really never alone. He, as we all, are with Hashem. I think we can glean a powerful message from here. Hashem accompanies every Jew on his final journey. He may be alone in the hospital – not surrounded by family or friends. He may have led a solitary life, but, at the moment of death, Hashem is with him. Perhaps this is why our greatest leader died alone – so that all of those who follow on this most significant, life-concluding journey should be aware that, just as Moshe was not alone, neither will they be.
Moshe left us a legacy – the Torah which he recorded by Hashem’s command. Every Jew should have a legacy, whether it is something written, something remembered, something established. Veritably, the only aspect of our humanity that is left over after our demise is memories. How we want to be remembered is demonstrated in the manner that we choose to live. Will we be remembered as spending every free moment learning, performing mitzvos or helping those in need – or will we be remembered as devoting our free time to sports, media and every other manner of wasting our time?
Moshe worked until his very last breath. He did not retire. This does not mean that one should not slow down when he physically is unable to carry the load that he did in his youth. Slowing down, however, is different than living life without purpose. I recently visited a retirement community where just about everyone learns one seder daily. This excludes the many shiurim which they attend. Furthermore, their davening is something from which we should all learn. I asked one member what motivates them to daven with such passion and fervor. His response was as enlightening as it was frightening, “We know that this might very well be our last tefillah b’tzibbur.”
Moshe Rabbeinu was the archetypical public servant. His epitaph is eved Hashem, the servant of Hashem. A servant neither takes vacations nor retires. He serves as long as he is needed – and, when he is not needed, looks for an opportunity to help those who might benefit from his assistance. No one said that life on this world was going to be a picnic. Hashem placed us here for a reason, for a purpose. Until our very last moment, our goal should be to achieve that purpose. We should use our greatest leader as the model for our lives and strive to be the consummate eved Hashem.
