By: Cindy Coons
Director of Family Engagement & Jewish Explorers
The man who once told God, “Lo ish devarim anochi,” “I am not a man of words” (Exodus 4:10), leaves us an entire book called Devarim, Words. There is something beautifully ironic about this.
When God first called Moses at the burning bush, he questioned whether he was the right person to lead the Israelites. He believed that his inability to speak eloquently disqualified him from the task before him. Yet here, during the final month of his life, Moses speaks with clarity, wisdom, and purpose as he prepares the next generation for the journey ahead.
The fifth and final book of the Torah is called Devarim, meaning Words, and it opens with Moses addressing the Israelites as they stand on the edge of the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 1:1). Forty years have passed since they left Egypt. A new generation now stands before him, the generation that will inherit the land, even though Moses knows he will not enter it with them. Moses understands that before this new generation can enter the Promised Land, they must first understand the journey that has shaped them.
As I reflected on this week’s Torah portion, I found myself wondering if Moses’ greatest transformation wasn’t that he finally found his voice. Perhaps he grew into it.
The Torah never tells us that Moses’ speech impediment disappeared. It never says that he suddenly became an extraordinary orator. Instead, something much deeper changed. Moses no longer allowed his perceived limitations to define his calling. Over forty years of leading, listening, struggling, questioning, and learning, his voice was formed by experience, wisdom, humility, and a deep sense of responsibility for his people. His authority came not from speaking perfectly, but from speaking authentically.
Throughout much of the Torah, God speaks to Moses. But in Devarim, Moses’ own voice comes to the forefront as he speaks directly to the people. After forty years of listening to God, to the Israelites, and to the experiences that shaped him, Moses is finally ready to speak in his own voice. His words reflect a voice that has been shaped by the journey itself.
And perhaps that is the question for us as well. How do we grow into the people we are meant to become?
As someone who has spent much of my life working with children and families, I have learned that people rarely find their voices all at once. They grow into them. When children feel safe enough to wonder, ask questions, and to be heard, they begin to trust their own ideas and discover who they are, much like Moses.
This is such a beautiful reminder for all of us. Many of us hesitate to use our voices because we fear we aren’t eloquent enough, knowledgeable enough, confident enough, or experienced enough. We wait until we feel ready, believing that confidence must come before courage.
Moses offers us a different possibility. Perhaps our voice is not something we suddenly discover. Perhaps it is something we grow into over time, through the relationships we build, the challenges we face, the questions we ask, and the moments that shape us.
As we continue on our own journeys, may we have the courage to grow into our voices, not because they are perfect, but because they are uniquely ours. And may we, like Moses, discover that the words formed through a lifetime of listening, learning, and growing are often the ones that leave the greatest legacy.
Shabbat Shalom from all of us at JEWISHcolorado.
Please email Cindy Coons at ccoons@jewishcolorado.org with questions or comments.