FINDING OUR VOICE This Shabbat, we begin reading one of the most powerful and sustained speeches in history. Almost the entire book of Devarim (Deuteronomy) consists of the final address that Moses gave to the Jewish people before taking his leave from them. “Eileh HaDevarim — These are the words that Moses spoke to all of Israel” (Devarim 1:1). It is striking, then, to recall how Moses’ journey as a speaker began. Forty years earlier, when we first encountered him at the burning bush, he declined G-d’s mission on the grounds that he struggled with speech. “Please, my L-d,” he...

OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO! With the holiday season upon us, I’d like to begin by wishing safe travels to everyone who’s taking a vacation, whether you’re going abroad or staying here in the UK. Our second parasha this week, Mas’ei, describes the journeys and encampments that the Israelites made during their forty years in the desert, from Egypt to the Promised Land. Surprisingly, despite decades of archaeological research, the identities of the forty-two locations remain uncertain. So many questions! We know that the Israelites crossed the Red (or Reed) Sea—but where exactly did they cross it? We know that...

TWO-HANDED JUDAISM In this week’s parasha, G-d tells Moses to appoint Joshua as his successor, and he instructs him to lay his hand on Joshua’s head. However, when Moses carries out the instruction, he places both his hands on Joshua’s head. (Bemidbar 27:23) The late Rav Joseph B Soloveitchik (d. 1993) explains that Moses wasn’t simply being generous and wholehearted in investing his successor. He was expressing the fundamental idea that there are two components in the transmission of Judaism from generation to generation. First, there is the Mesora or tradition of Torah study. Second, and equally important, is the...

MA TOVU: FINDING THE BLESSING IN THE CURSE There is a two-word phrase in this week’s parsha that is as famous as it is puzzling: Ma Tovu — “How good are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel!” (Bemidbar 24:5) These stirring words are traditionally recited every morning upon entering the synagogue. But their origin is surprising: they were not spoken by a Jewish prophet, but by Bilaam — a non-Jewish sorcerer, hired by King Balak to curse Israel. Bilaam, the Torah tells us, fully intended to harm the Jewish people. The Talmud adds that he sought to destroy...

WHEN DEATH IS CHANTED, AND NO ONE STOPS THE MUSIC At Glastonbury last week, the punk band Bob Vylan lead singer led the crowd in chanting “Death, death, to the IDF.” Even more shocking: the BBC, broadcasting live, let the chant run for a full 20 seconds before cutting it and left it available on iPlayer for a further 5 hours. A call for the death of Jews, masqueraded as protest, aired live to millions—and no one acted. This is more than a lapse in editorial judgment in our national broadcaster. It’s a sign of how far moral standards have...