The Book of Joshua follows the contours of Moses’s career, showing Joshuaas a second Moses, completing the task of his master: delivering the childrenof Israel to its land, and cementing our loyalty to the God who delivered usfrom Egyptian slavery and settled us in our own land. There is a splitting of thesea, a crossing onto dry land, the establishment of a covenant, war with localtribes, and an eventual distribution of land. And at the very conclusion of theBook (just as at the end of the Book of Deuteronomy), we are treated to aFarewell Address, this time by Joshua to the gathered people.

And what does he tell everyone? After summarizing the history of our descent into slavery and our liberation, he offers us a stark choice: follow the false divinities our ancestors served across the Euphrates, or the idols of the local Arameans. “But I and my household will serve the Lord (Joshua 24: 15).”

Enthused by the speech, the people swear their allegiance as well: “We too will serve the Lord, who is our God (Joshua 24: 18).”

Instead of professing delight, Joshua issues a stern warning. There are consequences to pledging allegiance to this passionate and demanding God. God will hold us to our commitments, expecting loyalty, follow through, and a rigorous social code of morality and justice. Backsliding is not an option.

This timeless reality – that there are consequences to commitment – is articulated at the very launch of our life as a nation. Pledging ourselves to a higher cause is not a passing fancy, and it binds us across the ages.  To link ourselves to a venerable path of ethics and compassion, noble as it is, requires fortitude, persistence, and ongoing determination. Failure is not an option; yet we have paid a desperately high price for falling short. Just as Joshua warned us.

And our response? To aim high. To recommit to the same lofty goals. And to begin anew.

Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson is the Dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and is Vice President of American Jewish University in Los Angeles.

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