Growing Old, Staying Young
Moshe is a model of how to age well. With the increase in life expectancy, this has become a significant and challenging issue for many of us. How do we grow old, yet stay young?
George Vaillant, in his book Aging Well and Triumphs of Experience, shares two dimensions that are particularly relevant in the case of Moshe. The first is what he calls generativity, namely, taking care of the next generation. Generativity is often marked by undertaking new projects, often voluntary ones, or by learning new skills. Its marks are openness and care.
The other key element is what Vaillant calls becoming the keeper of the meaning. By this, he means the wisdom that comes with age. Being a keeper of the meaning means handing on the values of the past to the future. Age brings the reflection and detachment that allows us to stand back and not be swept along by the mood of the moment, the passing fashion, or the madness of the crowd. We need that wisdom, especially in an age as fast-paced as ours, where huge success can come to people still quite young.
What is striking about the book of Devarim, set entirely in the last month of Moshe’s life, is how it shows the aged, but still passionate and driven, leader focusing on the twin tasks of generativity and keeper of the meaning.
It would have been easy for Moshe to retire into an inner world of reminiscence, recalling the achievements of an extraordinary life. Or, he could have brooded on his failures; above all, the fact that he would never physically enter the land to which he had spent forty years leading the nation. Moshe did neither of those things. Instead, in his last days, he turned his attention to the next generation and embarked on a new role. No longer Moshe the liberator and lawgiver, he took on the task for which he has become known to tradition: Moshe Rabbeinu, “Moshe our teacher.” It was, in some ways, his greatest achievement.
He told the young Israelites who they were, where they came from, and what their destiny was. He gave them laws and did so in a new way. No longer was the emphasis on the Divine encounter, as it had been in Shemot, or on sacrifices, as it was in Vayikra, but rather, on the laws in their social context.
He spoke about justice, care for the poor, consideration for employees, and love for the stranger. He set out the fundamentals of Jewish faith in a more systematic way than in any other book of Tanach. He told them of G-d’s love for their ancestors and urged them to reciprocate that love with all their heart, soul, and might. He renewed the covenant, reminding the people of the blessings they would enjoy if they kept faith with G-d and the curses that would befall them if they did not. He taught them the great song in Ha’azinu and gave the tribes his deathbed blessing.
Moshe showed us the meaning of generativity, leaving behind a legacy that would outlive him, and what it is to be a keeper of meaning, summoning all his wisdom to reflect on past and future, giving the young the gift of his long experience. By way of personal example, he showed us what it is to grow old while staying young.
RABBI DON JARASHOW
RABBI JONATHAN SACKS, Z”L
