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Moses' Last Act:
Choose A Successor

DR. RICHARD C. HERTZ

Special to The Jewish News

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46

FRIDAY, JULY 24, 1992

ur portion this week
describes how Moses
was told to ascend the
heights overlooking the Jor-
dan River from a place where
Moses could see the land of
Canaan and the wide stret-
ches of land west of the river.
It was there he was told that
he would be "gathered to his
Fathers," just as his brother
Aaron had been. Moses
already knew he himself
would not enter the Promised
Land but he was allowed the
consolation of seeing it with
his own eyes before he died.
Realizing that his end on
earth would come soon, even
though he still had many
laws and statutes about
which to instruct the people,
he knew he had to arrange for
continuity of leadership. It
was another distinctive mark
of Moses's leadership that he
planned for his own succes-
sion. He wanted to appoint a
man who would know how to
deal with his people in accor-
dance with their needs. Some
men at the time of their death
do not concern themselves
with their personal needs, but
rather with the needs of the
community. Moses wanted to
complete his task of transmit-
ting God's commandments to
Israel. Moses had been a
great leader. His task of
leadership was now almost
accomplished. He knew what
kind of a leader the people
would need. He knew the
man.
His eye already had been on
Joshua, a man "in whom
there was spirit." Joshua had
the spirit of wisdom, the spirit
of prophecy, and as Moses's
aide-de-camp he had the skill,
ability and knowledge of
every kind of military craft.
Joshua had the spirit of
courage. He was the one who
stood up for God and Moses in
the scouting episode.
Moses was singularly
brilliant in seeking the ap-
pointment of a successor,
"who may go out before them
and come in before them and
lead them out, that they
would not be like sheep who
have no shepherd." Using the
image of a shepherd with his
flock was something the peo-
ple understood.
The ceremony of investi-
ture, of laying his hands upon
Joshua, was the symbolic ac-
tion to show the transference

Dr. Richard C. Hertz is rabbi
emeritus of Temple Beth El.

of authority to Joshua. From
this came in future ages the
ceremony of ordaining a rab-
bi, called semicha. The laying
of hands became part of both
the Jewish and the Christian
tradition for the ordination of
rabbis and ministers.

Joshua was worthy to suc-
ceed Moses and to receive the
gift of prophecy. Joshua com-
bined the qualities both of a
military leader and a pro-
phet. His major function lay
ahead in the conquest and
settlement of Canaan.
After the story of the 10
spies seeking out the land of
Canaan, there is no further
mention of Joshua until the

Shabbat Pinchas:
Numbers
25:10-30:1
Jeremiah 1:1-2:3

census is taken at Moab,
across from Jericho.
There are many local
legends and traditions about
Joshua as the disciple of a
prophet. Moth (Chapter 1:1)
designates Joshua as the first
of the chain that handed
down the oral teachiings of
Moses. The rabbis describe
him as a wise and modest
man, but above all from this
sedra he is marked as the suc-
cessor to Moses, as a leader
both spiritual and miliary. ❑

SYNAGOGUES

1■ '•

Rabbi Nelson

Beth Shalom
Honors Nelson

Congregation Beth Shalom
will honor Rabbi David A.
Nelson on the occasion of his
20th anniversary as spiritual
leader of the synagogue at a
tribute dinner Sept. 17 and
family Oneg Shabbat Sept.
18. Both events will take
place at Beth Shalom.
The events will also mark
Rabbi Nelson's 25 years in the

