By: Julie Lieber
Chief Jewish Life & Engagement Officer
I often find myself thankful that I was not an Israelite at the time of Moses’ last speech. We have all sat through long sermons, but the book of Devarim, which we begin reading this week, is comprised of the longest sermon or farewell speech likely recorded. What is remarkable about Moses delivering this farewell speech is not only its length, but that it stands in stark contrast to the Moses we first meet in the book of Exodus. The book of Devarim, which literally means “words,” opens with the verse, “These are the words that Moses addressed to all of Israel.” But, we recall that Moses himself, when first approached by God in the book of Exodus had a very different relationship to “words.” At the time of the burning bush, when God approached Moses with his mission to lead the Israelite slaves out of Egypt, Moses tried through many different means to explain to God that he was not the person for this task. One of the more memorable was his plea: “Please my God, I have never been a man of words, neither in the past or now that you are speaking to me.”
How does Moses, self-described as a “not a man of words”, become the man of words, Devarim, we see at the end of the Torah in this week’s portion, delivering words that will be read and reread for generations to come? Many over the generations have offered explanations for this transformation. Some look to the support of The Divine in coaching him through the process, showing Moses in this initial meeting how to use magic alongside words. Others point to the support of Aaron who accompanied Moses to Egypt and took on the speaking roles that Moses did not yet feel he could do on his own. And then there is the simple fact that upon seeing the cries of the Israelites in Egypt and their desperation having been slaves for so many years, he had no choice but to step up and overcome his own challenges with words to save them.
Moses, as we have learned in the weeks leading up to this Torah portion, was not a flawless leader. In the course of his leadership, there were many times when he missed the mark, threatened to abandon his post as the leader, and ultimately never enters the land of Israel with the people he had shepherded to freedom. But true leadership does not mean being flawless. Moses’ final speech to the people, full of many words he himself initially didn’t believe he could muster, shows us that true leadership at its core is an act of courage – to step up in a time of need and crisis, even when that means confronting some of our greatest fears. We will likely need the support of the divine, of the Aaron’s in our lives or sometimes a crisis to compel us to step up and forge on. But the speech of Moses reminds us that we too likely have the capacity to do even more than we can imagine for ourselves.
Please email Julie Lieber at jlieber@jewishcolorado.org with questions or comments.