Va-ya'al Moshe me- 'arbot Mo'ab (Deuteronomy 34)

This is the concluding chapter of Ve-zot haberakha, the last parashah (reading portion) of the Torah (Pentateuch). An example of biblical cantillation according to the Spanish- Portuguese usage, this section of four verses includes a special rendition of some of the masoretic accents called the "high ne'um". This particularly moving cantillation is used on the festival of Simhat Torah (Rejoicing of the Torah) for the last chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy as well as for the first chapter of Genesis, for the celebratory beginning of the annual cycle of Torah reading. Other portions of the Torah, such as the one that describes the construction of the Tabernacle, are also read with the same cantillation. The verses that describe the death of Moses before the Israelites enter the Promised Land provide emotional conclusion to the annual cycle of Torah reading. The precise and very distinctive performance of the biblical cantillation heard in this recording is a hallmark of the venerable Spanish-Portuguese tradition