V'Zot HaBerachah
Rabbi Schapiro on the Parshah: V'Zot HaBerachah
Asks why the Torah's closing praise of Moshe Rabbeinu culminates not in his receiving the luchot or performing miracles in Mitzrayim, but in his breaking the first luchot, and why Rashi treats this as his single greatest maalah. Resolves it through Rashi's mashal of the shushbin who tears the ketubah to save the king's bride from a death sentence, showing that Moshe broke the luchot specifically to save Bnei Yisrael after the cheit ha'egel, an act of mesirut nefesh he undertook without even asking Hashem first. Explains why both the Torah and Rashi's commentary on Chumash close on this note, since the rule of being mesayem b'tov is fulfilled precisely by ending on the lesson of Ahavat Yisrael that Rabbi Akiva called a klal gadol baTorah.
Parshas V'Zos HaBerachah
A vort on the final verses of the Torah exploring Rashi's praise of Moshe for his bold decision to break the first set of tablets, and Hashem's approval of that choice.