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.” 

