1) Man of God
The opening of our sedra describes Moshe Rabeinu as an ish elokim, a ‘godly man.’ The Ibn Ezra explains this to refer to Moshe’s superior and unsurpassable level of prophecy. As the Rambam details, Moshe could receive direct, clear prophecy whenever he wanted, with all his physical faculties in tact. This level of directness of prophecy was unique to Moshe – a true man of God.
2) Man on a mission
There’s a Midrash brought in Rashi (defus rishon) which reveals that Moshe stopped the malach ha’maves (angel of death) taking Moshe’s neshama so that he could bless the people. Once again, we see that the thing at the forefront of Moshe’s mind was Klal Yisrael. His life was dedicated to serving Klal Yisrael, and he delayed his death for this cause too.
