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As the years go by, I have become more and more impressed with Moses’ discourses in the book of Deuteronomy, which we began just a few weeks ago. It was so important a book that Moses decrees that a copy of Deuteronomy must be at the side of an Israelite king, to read, to learn and be guided. Worthy of a separate conversation is the question of how Moses could foresee an Israelite king. 

The maturity in writing prose and poetry belies the beginnings of a humble shepherd at the burning bush who tried to decline God’s call because he was “slow of tongue”. Not only do we witness the adventures of the Israelites in the books of Exodus through Numbers, but we also experience the evolution of Moses during forty years. Perhaps it might be that I have begun my 42^nd year on the pulpit that I look at Deuteronomy from a different slant.

Moses comes across as a wizened professor delivering passionate lectures to a young generation that did not experience the slavery of Egypt yet sits poised to enter the Promised Land. He does his best to teach them the post-Exodus history of their ancestors, and tries to instill in them the responsibilities of being a covenantal people. God has fulfilled the promise made to Abraham and Sarah of bringing their descendants to the Promised Land. The responsibilities of the Israelites seem straightforward: do not yield to the temptations around them and fulfill the mitzvot. It seems rather simple, yet it is not. 

The concept of being chosen has reverberated throughout the centuries with accusations of Jewish arrogance and haughtiness. Nothing could be farther from the truth. God foisted upon the Jewish people a set of responsibilities, and tradition teaches us that all Jews, past, present and future, stood at Mt. Sinai and asserted Naaseh v’Nishmah: we will do and we will obey. Moses continuously reminds the Israelites of their promise, and shares his concerns that just like their forebears, they will stray because they are stiff-necked and lose God’s favor. Despite not being permitted to enter the Promised Land himself, and relegated to seeing it from atop Mt. Nebo, Moses bears no anger nor resentment towards God or the Israelites. Rather, he demonstrates throughout Deuteronomy why he was the perfect one for the task. He cares deeply about them, and was a man of his word to fulfill his commitments to God. His imperfections notwithstanding, Moses sets a very high bar, a template, for what a Jewish leader must be. I continue to marvel at him and learn from him across the millennia through my studies of Deuteronomy to be the best possible version of myself. He continues to inspire me. May he inspire you as well.