Devarim 31: Comings and Goings

The final message is nigh. Moshe begins the introduction tohis song and blessings: “I am now one hundred and twenty years old, I can notgo out and come in.”בֶּן־מֵאָהוְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה אָנֹכִי הַיּוֹםלֹא־אוּכַל עוֹד לָצֵאת וְלָבוֹא(Deuteronomy 31:2)The Hebrew “latzeit v’lavo” literally means go out and comein. Ostensibly, Moshe is saying that he is 120 years old and cannot move aroundanymore. This makes sense for him to say right before he dies. However, Rashidoes not like the literal translation. How could Moshe be frail if in a fewchapters the Torah says “His eye was not dim nor his natural force abated”(34:7)?לֹא־כָהֲתָהעֵינוֹ וְלֹא־נָס לֵחֹה(Deuteronomy 34:7)Rashi gives two answers. The first is that Moshe was notpermitted to move on—Hashem had given that role to Yehoshua. This first answermatches the second part of the verse: “Hashem said to me, ‘You shall not goacross yonder Jordan.’”וַה׳ אָמַר אֵלַי לֹאתַעֲבֹר אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּן הַזֶּה(Deuteronomy 31:2)This must be the explanation for the first part. Moshecannot move beyond this point because Hashem decreed it. Rashi’s second answeris that Moshe could no longer provide guidance on the Torah.Ibn Ezra explains it as Moshe declaring that he is no longerfit to be a political or military leader  Latzeit = going out to lead the people to war Lavo = coming in to judge, teach, and administerjusticeThe use of go out and come in also evokes the blessings andcurses of a few chapters ago. “Blessed shall you be in your comings and blessedshall you be in your goings.”בָּרוּךְאַתָּה בְּבֹאֶךָ וּבָרוּךְ אַתָּהבְּצֵאתֶךָ(Deuteronomy 28:6)“Cursed shall you be in your comings and cursed shall you bein your goings.”אָרוּר אַתָּה בְּבֹאֶךָ וְאָרוּראַתָּה בְּצֵאתֶךָ(Deuteronomy 28:19)Perhaps Moshe uses this phrase specifically tolet the people know not just that he is no longer able to move forward, butthat he is no longer eligible for the blessings and curses. Additionally, whilehe is no longer able, the people are now given the opportunity to move forward.Moshe may not be able to go out, but the people can. For the first time, theIsraelites can do something that the great Moshe can not. The path before themis the same that Moshe laid out three chapters earlier. If they follow God theywill be blessed like Moshe had been blessed, but if they fail to follow God,then their comings and goings will not be as pleasant as Moshe’s.