From Standing to Going: Building a Legacy

“we are temporary, but our influence can continue”

As we come to Parashat Nitzavim and Parashat Vayelech, we are coming toward the end of Moshe Rabbeinu's life. Moshe knows that his time with Bnei Yisrael is coming to an end. But instead of focusing on what he is losing, Moshe focuses on what he is leaving behind. This is where I see a powerful connection to Orrin Woodward's book, Resolved: 13 Resolutions for LIFE, especially the 13th Resolution: Legacy.

Legacy is not simply about what we leave behind after we are gone. Legacy is about what we are building while we are still here.

In Nitzavim, Moshe gathers the entire nation together. The Torah says, "You are standing today, all of you, before HaShem." It includes the leaders, the elders, the children, and everyone in between. The covenant is not only with the people standing there that day. It also includes the generations that are not yet there. That teaches me something very important about legacy.

Our decisions today affect people we may never meet.

When we make the decision to live with purpose, character, faith and responsibility, we are not only changing our own lives. We are influencing our children, our grandchildren and the generations that will come after us.

Nitzavim gives us another powerful message: "I have placed before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life." Every day we make choices. Some choices seem small and insignificant, but over time those choices become our character. Our character becomes our reputation, and our reputation becomes part of the legacy we leave behind.

This is one of the ideas I take from Resolved. We cannot simply say that we want to leave a great legacy. We have to resolve to live a life that creates that legacy. Legacy is built one decision at a time.

Then we come to Parashat Vayelech, and we see Moshe's personal transition. Moshe is told that he will not enter the Promised Land. His leadership is coming to an end. But Moshe does not simply walk away. He prepares Yehoshua. Moshe transfers responsibility to the next generation. He tells Yehoshua to be strong and courageous. He gives him the confidence to continue the mission.

This is what real leadership looks like. A leader should not only ask, "What can I accomplish during my lifetime?" A leader should also ask, "Who am I preparing to continue the work after me?" That is legacy.

Moshe's greatest accomplishment was not simply that he took Bnei Yisrael out of Egypt. His legacy was that he helped create a people who could continue the journey after he was gone.

He understood that the mission was bigger than the individual.

This is something that speaks to me personally. Sometimes we think our success is measured by what we accomplish ourselves. But perhaps a greater measurement of success is what happens because of what we taught, what we modeled, and what we gave to the next generation.

What will our children remember about us?

Will they remember only the things we gave them?

Or will they remember the values we lived by?

Will they remember how we treated people?

Will they remember our relationship with HaShem?

Will they remember how we handled adversity?

Will they remember that we kept our word?

Will they remember that we never gave up?

These are the things that become our legacy.

Nitzavim tells us to choose life. Vayelech shows us how Moshe chose to make that life continue beyond himself.

That is the connection I see to the 13th Resolution of Resolved: leaving a legacy by fulfilling our purpose and vision and becoming an example for the next generation. Legacy is not something we create at the end of our lives. Legacy is something we create every day of our lives. Every conversation can be part of our legacy. Every decision can be part of our legacy. Every challenge we overcome can be part of our legacy. Every person we help can be part of our legacy. And most importantly, every lesson we pass on to the next generation can become part of our legacy.

Moshe understood that he would not be there forever. But he also understood that the Torah, the mission and the relationship with HaShem had to continue. That is the lesson of Nitzavim and Vayelech. We are temporary, but our influence can continue. The question is not simply, "What am I going to accomplish in my lifetime?" The bigger question is: "What will continue because I was here?" That is the question of legacy.

And perhaps that is why Moshe's final message is not really about his ending. It is about their beginning. He was preparing the next generation to stand, to walk, to lead and to continue.

Nitzavim means "standing." Vayelech means "going."

We first have to stand for something.

Then we have to walk with it. And eventually, we have to teach the next generation how to carry it forward. That is how a life becomes a legacy.