The Republic of Moses

Recent episodes

1. Episode Three: The People of Eternity, with Mijal Bitton

   Jul 30, 2026

   How do you raise people to be resilient, responsible, and hopeful? The question, as our guest this week, the author and teacher Mijal Bitton explains, is an urgent one for leaders and parents alike. And in his final speech, Moses gives us all a blueprint to raise what Bitton calls “the people of eternity,” willful folks who see themselves neither as perennial victims nor as bullies but as mindful citizens who are able to learn from the past failures and believe in their future triumphs. Dr. Mijal Bitton isScholar in Residence at the Maimonides Fund and Rosh Kehilla at the Downtown Minyan. For more Jewish thoughts on the Torah portion, follow Mijal on her Substack, Committed, or listen to her weekly podcast, Wondering Jews with Mijal and Noam. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2. Episode Two: How to Fix a Broken Democracy, with Michael Eisenberg

   Jul 23, 2026

   Everywhere you look these days, Western democracies seem to be in disarray, struggling with tumultuous political systems and societies that seem to be teetering on the verge of something that looks a lot like civil war. As our guest on this week’s episode, investor and scholar Michael Eisenberg, argues, Moses could see all this coming, which is why he left behind not only a radical blueprint for a smaller, more efficient government, but also instructions for how to forge citizens who care less about their rights and more about their responsibilities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3. Episode One: Moses and the American Republic, with Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm

   Jul 17, 2026

   In the summer of 1788, as the New Hampshire Convention met to decide whether or not it wanted to become the ninth state to ratify the Constitution and thereby put it into effect, Samuel Langdon, who would eventually become the president of Harvard, took the stage. Urging his fellow Americans to vote “yes” on the nation’s founding document, he urged them to find inspiration in the greatest blueprint ever written for fledgling democracies busy being born: The Book of Deuteronomy. Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm joins us to explore how Moses’s final speech inspired the American Founding Fathers, and how the ancient words can give us moderns, raging about our flawed political systems, both solace and hope. The Republic of Moses is a project from the Simchat Torah Challenge, bringing Jews modern wisdom from our ancient books. To sign up for our free newsletter, visit simchattorahchallenge.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices