Teach them how to say goodbye – how Moses found his voice

Rabbi Stephen Wise – Parshat Devarim
(with much help from 10 min Torah by Rabbi Max Chaiken)

July 25, 2020 – 4 Av 5780

 

I am sure most of us have heard of the musical Hamilton, which broke box office records and won a bucketful of Tony awards and began touring around the world.  You might not know that I had tickets for the march 26^th performance, which covid-19 ripped from my hands.  But, in a beautiful turn of events, Disney a few weeks ago released the movie version of the original Hamilton cast performing the entire show on Broadway. Though I have listened to the album dozens of times, watching it play out in front of my eyes was magnificent.  The lyrics and music are so incredibly intricate and heart-wrenching, its an emotional rolloercoaster – and its based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, a founding father on the 10 dollar American bill who is otherwise one of the least popular historical figures.  But why I bring him up this morning is the connection to Moses and this weeks torah portion of Devarim. 

 

As we begin the fifth and final book of the Torah today, Deuteronomy, chapter 1 verse 1 states, “These are the words that Moses addressed to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan” (Deut. 1:1). The Hebrew name for Deuteronomy, D’varim, literally means “words,” and this framing sets the entire book apart from the rest of the Torah.

As Rabbi Chaiken writes in this weeks 10 minutes of Torah, from all we know of Moses from the previous books of the Torah, it has all been in the third person, Moses did this, Moses said that, Moses went there.  But now, for the first time, Moses speaks for himself. The irony comes from what we know about Moses: In his encounter with God at the Burning Bush, the reluctant prophet needed serious convincing that he was the right man for the job. He pleaded with the Eternal One:

“I have never been good with words, either in times past or now that You have spoken to Your servant; I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” (Ex. 4:10)

 

But Now here Moses stands, 40 years later, ready to speak an entire book called “Words”.  After 40 years in the desert, Moses has found his voice.  He has a story to tell.  And he needs to pass along these pearls of wisdom before he dies and his successor Joshua takes on the mantle of leadership and take the people into Israel, the promised land. 

But how to say goodbye, how to make that transition.

And here is where I rely on Lin Manuel -Miranada, the author and star of Hamilton the musical to help.

 

In the story of the American revolution, it is Washington who is the great leader and warrior.  He guides them through the revolution against Britain, against all odds winning battles and finally gaining independence for the 13 colonies to form the United States of America.  He is then chosen to be the first President, to help write the constitution and the bill of rights.  And then comes one of the most significant moments in the history of the world.  Washington is not a king, he is not power hungry ruler.  He understands that he was voted to be president but that he must also step down and allow for the succession of power.  He must yield his authority to the next person or else the whole democratic enterprise will die.  And so he asks Hamilton to help him.  I think the lyrics of the song “one last time” speak for themselves.  I’m going to play it for you now.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wYwA2LRShQ

 

if you have goosebumps listeting to the one song, listen to the whole show or watch it on Disney Plus, but in the meantime lets focus on a few lyrics that are pertinent. 

 

[WASHINGTON]
I wanna talk about what I have learned
The hard-won wisdom I have earned

[HAMILTON]
As far as the people are concerned
You have to serve, you could continue to serve—

[WASHINGTON]
No! One last time
The people will hear from me
One last time
And if we get this right
We’re gonna teach ‘em how to say
Goodbye
You and I—

[HAMILTON]
Mr. President, they will say you’re weak

[WASHINGTON]
No, they will see we’re strong

[HAMILTON]
Your position is so unique

[WASHINGTON]
So I’ll use it to move them along

[HAMILTON]
Why do you have to say goodbye?

[WASHINGTON]
If I say goodbye, the nation learns to move on
It outlives me when I’m gone
Like the scripture says:
“Everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
And no one shall make them afraid.”
They’ll be safe in the nation we’ve made

What do we learn here from Washington.  He has to move on, to say good bye, in order for the people to learn how to move on when he is gone.

Moses has to deliver the same message.  Even though his is the humble prophet who was “never good with words” he is standing on his soapbox, speaking directly to the people Israel, as they stand ready to move forward.

A first lesson relates to personal growth. Moses’ role as the speaker teaches us that people can change and grow. As Rabbi Chaiken writes, forty years in the desert leading an unruly, cranky bunch of Israelites would take a toll on anybody. Yet despite given the dual role of leader and prophet, Moses manages to cultivate and deepen his skills. Even through the personal tragedies of mourning his siblings, Miriam and Aaron, and the heart wrenching ultimatium from God that he not be allowed to enter the promised land, he found a well of resilience within himself, and he turns his weakness with words into a profound way to use them to teach the people. 

A second lesson in this portion reminds us that in order to move forward, we sometimes must start by reviewing where we’ve been.  President Washington reminds the people of the wars of independence, the words of the constitution and bill of rights created so all are created equal, that everyone has a right to a voice and a vote, that the states must work together, that the president, supreme court and congress balance power to rule effectively. 

Here in Dvarim Moses offers a similar historical lesson, an abridged retelling of the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness. Starting from Horeb (Deut. 1:6), he reminds the people of his own challenges of leadership, and his need to delegate and maintain order (Deut. 1:9-18). He recounts the deep uncertainty and fear the Israelites expressed, leading to the episode with the spies (Deut. 1:22-24) and eventually to God’s decree that the people would remain in the wilderness for an entire generation (Deut. 1:34-38). Finally, Moses turns his attention to review the recent military battles during the Israelites’ wanderings. He recounts for the people both the defeats and the victories over the course of their trek through the desert (Deut. 1:46-3:22).

 

In all of this retelling, Moses never fails to maintain a laser focus of what comes next even after he is gone: crossing the Jordan and entering the Promised Land. He carefully reminds the people that “the Eternal your God has been with you these past 40 years” (Deut. 2:7). The way he crafts the story offers constant reminders that their defeats coincided with their lack of trust in God and their victories were delivered with God’s help.  And that God will be there for generations and generations to come.  Moses retells the story to the people to prepare them for this uncertain future.  He reminds them time and time again to build their trust in themselves along with their trust in God.  I believe that Moses, despite being a man who thinks he stutters and can’t put words together, accomplishes his goal of girding the Israelites spiritually for the challenges to come by reminding them of all that they have already endured and survived and their ability to handle whatever comes next. 

This can be a powerful lesson for us, too. While we hopefully do not find ourselves fighting literal battles, each of us faces struggles and challenges in our lives. Each of us will encounter self-doubt or despair, or feel vulnerable to attack; you may even be feeling that now.  But learn from the lessons of the leaders from History.  Washington understood when his time had come to a close and retired with grace and honour.  He taught the people how to say good bye but also how to feel safe in the new country they build and not put all their trust in one leader.  They have the right to vote for the next one and the next one and create the democratic system that has enveoloped most of the world today. 

And we can learn from Moses who overcame great adversity.  As he grew to overcome his fear of words, we too can remember and identify ways we have grown, and weaknesses that we’ve turned to strengths. Like Moses, we too can look back and consider our journey before we advance. We can choose to retell our story in ways that remind us that we are not alone, and that we too have the power to move forward from strength to strength.

Shabbat Shalom