Jonathan Sacks

The last thing Moses did before giving the people his deathbed blessing was to teach them a song.

When great minds leave Judaism, Judaism loses great minds. When those in search of spirituality go elsewhere, Jewish spirituality suffers.

It is all too easy to abandon your ideals when you see how hard it is to change even the smallest part of the world, but when you do you become cynical, disillusioned, disheartened. That is a kind of spiritual death.

One reason religion has survived in the modern world despite four centuries of secularization is that it answers the three questions every reflective human being will ask at some time in his or her life: Who am I? Why am I here? How then shall I live?

Great leaders have many qualities, but humility is usually not one of them. With rare exceptions they tend to be ambitious, with a high measure of self-regard. They expect to be obeyed, honored, respected, even feared.

How do great leaders inspire action?

What did Moses do on the last days of life?

Joy is not the first word that naturally comes to mind when we think of the severity of Judaism as a moral code or the tear-stained pages of Jewish history.

It is through the word – speaking and listening – that we can have an intimate relationship with G‑d as our parent, our partner, our sovereign, the One who loves us and whom we love.

How are we to explain Moses’ apparent failure with his own children and grandchildren?