The Republic of Moses https://simchattorahchallenge.org en The Simchat Torah Challenge 2026 Can democracy—in America or anywhere else around the world—be fixed? A very old book offers some surprisingly timely, and deeply hopeful, advice, reminding us that democracy is difficult, maddening, and absolutely sacred work. In this show, brought to you by the Simchat Torah Challenge, religious leaders, scholars, and thinkers will explain why Deuteronomy is the book we all absolutely need to read right now, and why Moses may very well hold the answers to some of the most vexing questions haunting us these days.  https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/47d7c910-811a-11f1-9b1f-97d8f6fcb177/image/63c0c7bd5d0c8cb5fc51f1e05e5b2be9.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress The Republic of Moses https://simchattorahchallenge.org no episodic Timely advice on fixing our broken democracy from an ancient and unexpected source, the Book of Deuteronomy. The Simchat Torah Challenge Can democracy—in America or anywhere else around the world—be fixed? A very old book offers some surprisingly timely, and deeply hopeful, advice, reminding us that democracy is difficult, maddening, and absolutely sacred work. In this show, brought to you by the Simchat Torah Challenge, religious leaders, scholars, and thinkers will explain why Deuteronomy is the book we all absolutely need to read right now, and why Moses may very well hold the answers to some of the most vexing questions haunting us these days.  Can democracy—in America or anywhere else around the world—be fixed? A very old book offers some surprisingly timely, and deeply hopeful, advice, reminding us that democracy is difficult, maddening, and absolutely sacred work. In this show, brought to you by the Simchat Torah Challenge, religious leaders, scholars, and thinkers will explain why Deuteronomy is the book we all absolutely need to read right now, and why Moses may very well hold the answers to some of the most vexing questions haunting us these days. 

]]> The Simchat Torah Challenge shalom@simchattorahchallenge.org Episode Two: How to Fix a Broken Democracy, with Michael Eisenberg 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. Thu, 23 Jul 2026 21:03:00 -0000 full The Simchat Torah Challenge 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. 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.

]]> 1397 Episode One: Moses and the American Republic, with Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm 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 Fri, 17 Jul 2026 14:12:00 -0000 full The Simchat Torah Challenge 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 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

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