This week Moshe says some of the most inspiring words ever uttered about the why of Jewish existence. Moshe communicates an unshakeable certainty that what had happened to Bnai Yisrael would eventually change and inspire the world. This is what made him the great transformational leader he was, and his message has consequences for us, here, now.
First, Moshe was convinced that Jewish history was - and would remain - unique. In an age of powerful empires, a small, defenseless group had been liberated from the greatest empire of all by a power not their own, by God Himself. That was Moshe’s first point: the singularity of Jewish history as a narrative of redemption.
Second, he gave us the unique gift of revelation. Other nations had gods to whom they prayed and offered sacrifices. They too attributed their military successes to their deities. But no other nation saw God as their sovereign, legislator, and lawgiver. Elsewhere law represented the decree of the king or, in more recent centuries, the will of the people. In Israel, uniquely, even when there was a king, he never had legislative power. Only in Israel was God seen not just as a power but as the architect of society, the orchestrator of its music of justice and mercy, liberty and dignity.
The question is why. “See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me.... Observe them carefully, for this is your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’” (Devarim 4:5–6)
Why did Moshe, or God, care whether or not other nations saw Israel’s laws as wise and understanding? Judaism was and is a love story between God and a particular people, often tempestuous, sometimes serene, frequently joyous, but close, intimate, even inward-looking. What has the rest of the world to do with it?
But the rest of the world does have something to do with it. Judaism was never meant for Jews alone. God is the God of all humanity. Therefore, what we do as Jews makes a difference to humanity, not just in a mystical sense, but as role-models of what it means to love and be loved by God. Other nations would look at Jews and sense that some larger power was at work in their history.
We were not called on to convert the world. We were called on to inspire the world. Our vocation is to be God’s ambassadors to the world, giving testimony through the way we live that it is possible for a small people to survive and thrive under the most adverse conditions, to construct a society of law-governed liberty for which we all bear collective responsibility, and to “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly” (Micha 6:8) with our God. And this week’s parsha – Va’etchanan – is the mission statement of the Jewish people.
We are not just another ethnic minority. We are the people who predicated freedom on teaching our children to love, not hate. Ours is the faith that consecrated marriage and the family, and spoke of responsibilities long before it spoke of rights. Ours is the vision that sees solving world of poverty as a religious task. Much is written these days about the what and how of Judaism, but all too little about the why. Moshe, in the last month of his life, taught the why. That is how the greatest of leaders inspired action from his day to ours.
