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October 7, 2015

Was Moses’ Death Punishment or Reward?

Making sense of the Torah’s final chapter.

On the holiday of Simḥat Torah (which fell on Monday in Israel and Tuesday in the Diaspora) the annual cycle of readings from the Pentateuch is concluded with the end of Deuteronomy. Here God instructs Moses to survey the land of Israel from a mountain vantage point, but forbids him from entering. This is generally understood as punishment of the Israelites’ dying leader, but James A. Diamond wonders whether it is really something else:

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October 7, 2015

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    A brother’s eulogy.

  2. Henry Kissinger: Statesman and Jew

    A review of a new biography.

  3. On Jewish Studies and Jews’ Declining Popularity

    An interview with a scholar of Yiddish literature.

  4. Was Moses’ Death Punishment or Reward?

    Making sense of the Torah’s final chapter.

  5. Rock-Throwing, Shootings, Stabbings—and Mahmoud Abbas

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