Choose OR Command
Deuteronomy 30:14-20 Torah Study with R. Marder
He says, "choose life". We have free choice.
BUT He also says "I command you". We need to be convinced.
This is Moses in his final lesson - begging, pleading, cajoling - using every technique known to get the message across that the survival of the people depends on their following the laws and the way of life that he has set out for them.
It is the "ultimate lesson plan" and Moses is good at his role of leader. He knows that the future holds both good and bad. There will be many temptations to stray as they move forward. He knows that they need to make the right choices.
Like a parent giving guidance to their children, we must teach the next generation to hold on to the lessons of Torah and follow its guide because that is what will insure our survival as a people.
Each of our lives is finite, but we share in a potential for collective immortality. It is our personal choices that make a difference in the future.
BOOK: Jew and the Lotus - by Rodger Kamenetz - explores lessons of spiritual survival - about when the Dalai Lama invited eight Jewish delegates to Dharamsala, India, to ask them, "What is the secret of Jewish spiritual survival in exile?"
He says, "choose life". We have free choice.
BUT He also says "I command you". We need to be convinced.
This is Moses in his final lesson - begging, pleading, cajoling - using every technique known to get the message across that the survival of the people depends on their following the laws and the way of life that he has set out for them.
It is the "ultimate lesson plan" and Moses is good at his role of leader. He knows that the future holds both good and bad. There will be many temptations to stray as they move forward. He knows that they need to make the right choices.
Like a parent giving guidance to their children, we must teach the next generation to hold on to the lessons of Torah and follow its guide because that is what will insure our survival as a people.
Each of our lives is finite, but we share in a potential for collective immortality. It is our personal choices that make a difference in the future.
BOOK: Jew and the Lotus - by Rodger Kamenetz - explores lessons of spiritual survival - about when the Dalai Lama invited eight Jewish delegates to Dharamsala, India, to ask them, "What is the secret of Jewish spiritual survival in exile?"
posted by Chavarah @ 8:10 AM
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