Torah for Christians: Moses is My Uncle

Transcript

TORAH FOR CHRISTIANS

SEASON 4   EPISODE ONE

MOSES IS MY UNCLE!

First broadcast on June 13, 2022

          I am proud to say that Moses is my uncle. I’m Rabbi Jordan Parr and this is Torah for Christians.

MUSIC

          Welcome to Torah for Christians. I’m Rabbi Jordan Parr.

          We are going to try something different for our summer series. For the next few weeks, we will discuss Moses as a leader. All of us know his biography and his importance as the lawgiver in Judaism. But we can look at him in many other ways as well.

          I’ve long been a student of the science of leadership. When we look at Moses as a leader, we can discover important lessons for Jews and Christians alike. 

          So, Moses is my uncle.

          Granted, this is a bold statement, but it is actually true.  Moses is a member of my family.  Full disclosure: As well as being a rabbi, I am also a  kohen, a member of the priestly caste in Judaism.  Yes, should the day ever come when the Temple is rebuilt, I would be eligible to officiate.  I’m really not sure how I feel about that, to be honest.

          A kohen, a priest in Judaism, is a descendent of Aaron, the brother of Moses. As a descendent of Aaron, therefore, Moses is my uncle.

For generations, fathers have told their sons about this status; it is an exalted one in Judaism, indeed.  As a kohen, I am often given the honor of the first Aliyah, the first person called to the Torah to bless it. There are special prayers that kohanim, priests, recite on the Sabbath morning to bless the congregation. And there are strict rules about priestly purity, even today. For example, a kohen is forbidden to enter a cemetery lest he be called suddenly to a renewed sacrificial cult in a rebuilt Jerusalem Temple.  

          In Jewish tradition, we call Moses by his epithet, Moshe Rabbeinu, Moses our Teacher.  Moses, of course, has much to teach us: Four of the five books of the Torah are about him and the laws that he put forward.  We call the Torah “The Five Books of Moses”; he has inspired us throughout the ages and his ancient message has importance to us, even today.  

Through Judaism, the great religions of Christianity and Islam appeared – and Uncle Moses is important to them as well.  In fact, I don’t know what we would have done without him.  My guess is that we would still be living in caves, grabbing any beautiful woman we men saw, fighting over property, ignoring our children, and generally trying to beat each other up.  Moses helped us to become civilized people; he gave us a series of laws by which we still live; he taught us to be servants of God.

          Moses was a great teacher, to be sure.  But he was so much more.  In these next few minutes, I want to talk about Moses as a great leader.  We don’t often hear about this aspect of Moses’ character – but it’s there.  It took a special person to lead the Israelites – those ungrateful, dysfunctional, thirsty, hungry, licentious, ungrateful, newly freed slaves – on a 40-year journey through the desert towards an uncertain future.  Yet, Moses did it.  And he began his remarkable service when he was 80 years old!  If Moses was 120 years old when he died, we subtract the 40 years of wandering in the desert. Doing the math, he had to have been about 80 years old, give or take a few years, when he began.  So, we know that you are never too old to try something new!

What made Moses tick?  How did he do it?  I would like to break down his actions for you; then we will realize just how powerful a person – and how great a leader – Moses really was.

Think about what Moses had to do to lead the Israelites: 

For starters, Moses had to realize his calling. When he encountered God at the Burning Bush, he was no more than a refugee, shepherding his father-in-law’s sheep on a desert mountain. After confronting God at the Burning Bush, Moses found his purpose in life. And he changed the world.

Moses had to overcome self-doubt. He tried very hard to get out of his assigned task: to free the captive Israelites. He was too simple a man, the Egyptians would kill him, and, most famously, he was a stutterer. Well, for a stutterer, he sure said a lot. Moses confronted his greatest fears and overcame them. That is the mark of a true leader.

Moses was single-minded in his mission. He knew exactly what he was supposed to do. Once he received his marching orders, Moses never lost focus.

It was hard for Moses to establish his authority. But through a series of confrontations with Pharaoh and also with the Israelites, the latter came to believe in him as a leader. But it takes work; we can’t just say, “Follow me,” and expect others to come along. We must prove ourselves. At first, the Israelites sneered at Moses; at the end of their captivity, they celebrated the first Pesach because they came to believe in him and in God.

Moses had to convince people to follow him. This was no small task. Along with establishing his authority, Moses had to sell the Israelites on the idea of freedom; it did not come naturally to them.

Moses had to overcome internal and external opposition. That much is clear.

Moses had to learn how to celebrate. This is not so clear, but all leaders know how to declare victory and throw a party. It can’t all be work; we must cherish and then regularly commemorate our victories. Moses and Israel sang a song at the Sea of Reeds to celebrate their redemption and their freedom, the Song of the Sea.

Moses had to impose ritual and order on an unruly population. Without much help, he had to shepherd 600,000 Israelite men, along with their wives, children, animals, and something called a mixed multitude from Egypt into the wilderness – and then keep the group together for 40 years, all the while, maintaining a sense of mission and purpose.

Finally, Moses had to provide for an orderly transition. The hardest thing a leader must do is give up power. This is the reason why we see so many of our politicians today continue into their 70’s or even 80’s; they love the power, the influence, and the fame. They don’t know what to do without it. But a good leader develops a great bench, ready to step in at a moment’s notice. Moses spent decades preparing Joshua; when it was time for Joshua to take over, it was a seamless transition.

          When we realize what he accomplished, there is no doubt in my mind that Moses is one of history’s greatest leaders.  We would do well to emulate him.  We need, therefore, to look at the Bible and draw out its lessons for our day.  Most of us have studied the Bible.  All of us know who Moses is.  So now, when we read about Moses in the Bible, study his words, his thoughts, and his actions with an eye towards leadership.  We are constantly looking for role models, leaders whom we can emulate.  My Uncle Moses is such a role model.

          I cannot talk about all of Moses’ qualities in one episode.  That’s why we are making this a series of podcasts. But I am convinced that if Moses could achieve greatness in his time, so can we today.  All it takes is the decision to shed our slave mentality and declare ourselves free.  We won’t start a new religion – but we will vastly improve our lives.  And that will certainly help us in every endeavor.

          It’s fascinating, isn’t it?  Here was this man, steeped in the ways of the Egyptian palace, who wound up tending sheep in Midian for 40 years.  Yet, something transformational happened to him at the Burning Bush, the bush that was on fire but not consumed.  There, Moses realized his destiny.  

          When God appeared to him at the Burning Bush, Moses said, “Hineini, Here I am.” He was ready to do God’s bidding.  Whenever we step forward to lead, we must remember that there is always a Power greater than us.  Leaders must first be servants, for without a sense of service, we can easily become demagogues.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for example, was a great leader – but he was also a servant of God.  Hitler was a great leader, too.  But he served nobody but himself – and brought great destruction upon his people, my people and indeed the entire world.  The difference, my friends, could not be any clearer.

          In the next few episodes, we will focus on Moses and his leadership abilities. He was not perfect, to be sure, but to Jews, he is the paradigmatic leader. We are eager to get to know him anew.

          This is the perfect time to announce that we have a new website, www.torahforchristians.com, where you can access previous episodes, including transcripts, write a comment or ask a question, catch up on my Substack columns, Wednesday Torah and Bible Stories They (Never) Taught You in Religious School – or even book me as a speaker. Soon, there will also be a membership opportunity, which will entitle you to a free e-book and members-only ZOOM talks, when we can interact in real time. There’s a lot on the horizon so sign up for our mailing list and become a part of our community.

          I want to thank you for listening to Torah for Christians. If you enjoyed this podcast, tell your friends, and spread the word. You are the reason for our success. And whether you identify as a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim or even as a skeptic, we are all in this together. So please remember: Hinei Mah Tov… L’hitra’ot, till we meet again. I’m Rabbi Jordan Parr and this is Torah for Christians.