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Aaron was the right arm of Israel. The clouds of glory that directed the Jew's path in the desert were in Aaron's merit and departed when he passed away. The Jews then wandered aimlessly like a person lacking a forearm, who has to support himself at every place possible to avoid falling.

Parashat VaYelech describes G‑d's final admonitions to Moses before his death, including reproaching Moses for having allowed a "mixed multitude" of gentiles to leave Egypt together with the Jews, on his own authority. This multitude was in fact not ready for this spiritual leap and caused much trouble during the forty-year trek in the desert.

The commandment of Hakhel, the public reading of the Torah by an Israelite king, is found in this Torah portion. The mystical dimension of this commandment is that all people who exist at that time are called to appear before G-d, the King of the universe; therefore it had to be performed by our earthly king, who represents the King in the celestial spheres.

"...this nation shall rise up and stray after the alien gods… I will then show my anger against them and abandon them. I will hide my face from them...."

The Baal Shem Tov teaches:
In reality there is no such thing as "Hester Panim". It is only an illusion, the objective of which is to examine how we relate to G-d's "hiding". The one who continues to strive to the utmost of his ability to search for G-d is rewarded in the end with a great closeness.

The Sabbatical Year teaches us three primary lessons and the septennial assembly ceremony at the beginning of the following year is meant to carry these lessons from the Sabbatical Year into our mundane lives.