52 | SEPTEMBER 29 • 2022
their journey. He would not
set foot in the Promised Land.
Unlike Aaron, whose children
inherited his priesthood to
eternity, Moses had to live
with the fact that neither of
his sons, Gershom and Eliezer,
would become his successor.
That role would go to his
assistant and faithful servant
Joshua. These were, surely,
huge disappointments to set
alongside the momentous
achievements.
So, as Moses faced his own
life’s end, what was there left
to do? The book of Devarim
contains and constitutes
the answer. As it says in its
opening chapter: “In the
40th year, on the first day
of the 11th month, Moses
spoke to the Israelites … On
the east bank of the Jordan,
in the land of Moab, Moses
began expounding this law
…” No longer the liberator
and miracle-worker, Moses
became Rabbenu, “our
teacher,” the man who taught
Torah to the next generation.
The way he does so in
Devarim is stunning. No
longer, as before, does he
simply articulate the law. He
explains the theology behind
the law. He speaks about
the love of God for Israel
and the love Israel should
show to God. He speaks with
equal power about the past
and the future, reviewing
the wilderness years and
anticipating the challenges
ahead.
Above all, coming at the
subject from every conceivable
direction, he warns the young
people who will enter and
inherit the land, that the real
challenge will not be failure
but success; not slavery but
freedom; not the bread of
affliction but the temptations
of affluence. Remember, he
says again and again; listen
to the voice of God; rejoice in
what He has given you. These
are the key verbs of the book,
and they remain the most
powerful immune system
ever developed against the
decadence and decline that
has affected every civilization
since the dawn of time.
That last month in Moses’
life, which culminates in
today’s parshah as he finally
hands over the reins of
leadership to Joshua, is one
of the supreme instances
in Tanach of generativity:
speaking not to your
contemporaries but to those
who will live on after you. It
was Moses’ second mountain.
And perhaps the very things
that seemed, at first sight, to
have been disappointments,
turned out in the end to have
played their part in shaping
this last chapter in that great
life. The fact that he knew
he would not accompany the
people into the land, and that
he would not be succeeded by
his sons, meant that he had to
turn into a teacher of the next
generation. He had to hand on
to them his insights into the
future. He had to make the
people his disciples — and we
have all been his disciples ever
since.
All of this suggests a
powerful and potentially
life-changing message for all
of us. Whatever our life has
been thus far, there is another
chapter to be written, focused
on being a blessing to others,
sharing whatever gifts we
have with those who have
less, handing on our values
across the generations, using
our experience to help others
come through difficult times
of their own, doing something
that has little to do with
personal ambition and much
to do with wanting to leave
some legacy of kindness that
made life better for at least
someone on Earth.
Hence the life-changing
idea: Whatever your
achievements, there is always
a second mountain to climb,
and it may turn out to be your
greatest legacy to the future.
The late Rabbi Lord Jonathan
Sacks served as the chief rabbi of
the United Hebrew Congregations of
the Commonwealth, 1991-2013. His
teachings have been made available
to all at rabbisacks.org. This essay was
written in 2017.
continued from page 51
SPIRIT
A WORD OF TORAH
Orthodox Union and Secure Community Network
Partner to Strengthen Synagogue Security
T
he Union of Orthodox
Jewish Congregations
of America (Orthodox
Union) announced a pair
of new initiatives created
in partnership with Secure
Community Network
(SCN) — the umbrella secu-
rity organization for the
American Jewish community.
One new initiative is
designed to increase the
security of Orthodox
Jewish synagogues, which
are Sabbath-observant; the
second initiative is intended
to increase the reporting of
antisemitic incidents in the
Orthodox Jewish community
through an online portal:
https://advocacy.ou.org/file-
an-incident-report.
The Orthodox Union
worked with Secure
Community Network and
consulted with leading
Orthodox rabbis to identify
and develop a security alert
system that will operate
within the appropriate
parameters of Halachah
(Jewish law). That system
is now being launched and
is rolling out to Sabbath-
observant synagogues across
the United States.
“These initiatives, and
our partnership with Secure
Community Network, are
built on the shared goal of
making our community
institutions safer. This is
a time to take action to
enhance security. While
we pray nothing happens,
if it does, we now have an
efficient way of alerting our
synagogues on a Shabbos
or holy day,” said Orthodox
Union President Mark
(Moishe) Bane.
OU Executive Vice
President Rabbi Moshe
Hauer added, “The new
OU-SCN-sponsored
reporting system will
assist in gathering more
accurate information and
thus enable the OU to
work with law enforcement
officials and policymakers
to ensure resources are
allocated to better ensure our
community’s security.”