This week's section is called Vaielej (And it was). Basically, it talks about the mitzvah of Hakhel (each first year of the 7-year cycle the king would read certain parts of the Torah in front of the audience of men, women and children gathered in the Beit HaMikdash) and the transfer of the mandate from Moshe to Joshua.
It is an extremely short section (only 30 verses!), but it still contains some very important concepts for practical life today. It is known that within Judaism there are two types of laws: biblical laws and rabbinic laws. In turn, the words of our sages are divided into three: fences (gzerot), decrees Takanot and customs minhaguím).
The purpose of legal restrictions is, so to speak, to protect a person from transgressing a biblical law. Therefore, our sages prohibit something that the Torah essentially permits. The purpose of decrees is to ensure that people perform a specific action that the Torah doesn't necessarily command, but which our sages deem appropriate. Customs, in turn, encompass both possibilities: doing something or not doing it based on the custom of the place or time.
Regarding this last point, it's common to hear people say that Ashkenazi customs are this way, or Sephardic customs are that way, or that in such and such a community the custom is like this. Why do customs vary from place to place?
Our sages explain, based on a verse in this section (Devarim 31:26), that Moshe wrote thirteen books of the Torah (equal) and gave one to each tribe, while the thirteenth he placed inside or next to (it is a discussion) the Ark where the Tablets of the Law were.
This shows us that the Torah was given to be interpreted in detail upon detail for each Jewish soul, which in turn is rooted in that detail of the Torah (the most interesting thing is that the rules of interpretation were also given to Moshe at Mount Sinai, so that you cannot interpret just anything simply because that's how you understand it...).
In other words, each person has a portion of the Torah that "belongs" to them, so to speak, as it is the source to which their soul is connected. According to this connection, the person grasps and understands the Torah in a particular way, based on the perspective they gain from that portion.
With this idea, we can understand, on a deeper level, the petition (Pirkei Avot 5:18) "and give us our portion in the Torah." Superficially, we ask God to give us our full measure of Torah study, along with the peace and sustenance necessary to study it, but from a deeper perspective, we ask God to show us what that portion is. our portion in the Torah, the very source of our soul, to work on revealing and expressing it in everyday life.
Gmar chatimá Tová, leShaná tová uMetuka
May we finally be registered for good, for a good and sweet year.