MOSES' FINAL ADDRESS

In MOSES' FINAL ADDRESS, Micah Goodman, while not shying away from the ample scholarly literature on Deuteronomy, offers his own accessible and stimulating reading of a text he shows to be groundbreaking and provocative, relevant and resonant.

Just before his death at the end of the book of Deuteronomy, Moses addresses the people of Israel for the last time. His oration, which comprises most of Deuteronomy, is a boldly original message about religion, power and humanity. Goodman shows how Moses recasts the people's past in order to shape its future. As such, Deuteronomy is the first commentary on the Bible, offering a radical reinterpretation of the first four books of the Bible.

Deuteronomy is also the first truly human book of the Bible, in that it consists of Moses' words. Goodman argues that it offers a surprisingly progressive and democratic message that anticipates both Plato and the American founding fathers. He demonstrates how Moses' legacy was carried on by Joshua but then largely vitiated by King Solomon. And he concludes by considering whether Moses' revolutionary view can be realized in modern Israel, where Jews once again have political power.

Micah Goodman teaches philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is a senior research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. He is the founder and director of Ein Perat – The Midrasha in Alon, an institute where secular and religious Israeli young adults study together. A celebrated teacher and speaker, he is a leading voice on major issues facing Israel and world Jewry today. Each of his three books was a long-running bestseller in Israel.