The Missing Six

And he said unto them: 'I am a hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in (v’lavo); and God has said unto me: You shall not go over this Jordan.                    Deuteronomy 31:2

            Ba’al haTurim notes that the word “v’lavo” is spelled without the letter “vav” (whose numeric equivalent is six), and suggests that Moses hints that he is no longer capable of “coming and going” within the six orders of the Mishna, that is, he is no longer qualified to make Halachic decisions for the nation.

            My father noted that the sixth to the last verse of the Torah tells us of Moses “his natural powers had not left him,” implying that he was physically able to continue to guide the Israelites. However, when Moses felt that he was no longer able to be the nation’s spiritual guide, he knew that he must be replaced.

            The letter “vav” is also conjunctive, and its absence may also hint that Moses felt he was no longer able to unite the people, hence his mission had reached its end and it was necessary to have his disciple Joshua replace him [verse 3].