Joe and Moses - The Jewish Standard

In the high-stakes interview after his disastrous debate, President Joe Biden declared that there was no way he was going to drop out of the race, and then said, with a laugh, “It depends on — on if the Lord Almighty comes down and tells me that, I might do that.”

A few moments later he added, “Look. I mean, if the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get outta the race,’ I’d get outta the race. The Lord Almighty’s not comin’ down.”

As a rabbi my biblical antennae is always up, and I said to myself, “Joke or no joke — is the president comparing himself to Moses?”

For as all readers of the Bible know, the Lord Almighty did come down to Moses and tell him his time was up.

The first time this occurs — in the Torah portion read the week after the debate — Moses is told “you shall not lead this congregation into the land that I have given them” (Num.20:12).

The last time this occurs, just before his death overlooking the Promised Land, Moses is reminded that “I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not cross there” (Deut.34:4).

But in between these declarations, Moses himself comes to a crucial moment of self-clarity when he admits to “all Israel” that “I am now one hundred and twenty years old; I can no longer be active” (Deut. 31:2).

The literal meaning of the phrase “be active” is “come and go.” Here Moses is referencing his previous use of the phrase in a poignant foreshadowing of his stepping down. When God again reminds him of both his mortality and morality, Moses appeals to God, saying, “Let God, source of the breath of all flesh, appoint someone over the community who will go out before them and come in before them, and shall take them out and bring them in, so that God’s community may not be like sheep that have no shepherd” (Num.27:16-17).

In his fateful hour, Moses thinks foremost about the well-being of his people. As much as he would like to be the person to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, as much as he no doubt felt he deserved it after 40 years of incredibly dedicated service, Moses realizes that it is time to pass the torch to the younger generation. And that is precisely what he does when he then anoints Joshua in full view of the people.

In contemporary terms, we would say that Moses put country over party, community over self. We note that he had a succession plan and publicized it. Moses provided for a smooth transition of leadership at a critical juncture of our ancestors’ history.

Maybe Joe shouldn’t be so sure that “The Lord Almighty’s not comin’ down.” Has he listened to the inner voice that Moses heard so keenly? Has he self-reflected as president as deeply as the prophet had? Having once spoken of himself as a “bridge” to the next generation, does he have both the humility and the courage to make that happen?

When Moses does die, the Torah notes that Joshua “was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands upon him” (Deut.34:9). This was Moses’ final gift to his people. There would be no worst-case scenario of “sheep that have no shepherd.”

May we too be so blessed.

Barry L. Schwartz is rabbi of Congregation Adas Emuno in Leonia and director and editor-in-chief emeritus of the Jewish Publication Society. His latest book is “Open Judaism: A Guide for Believers, Atheists, and Agnostics.”

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