Covenant & Conversation

Why does Moses emphasize joy specifically in the book of Deuteronomy?

How can you be a victim and yet not see yourself as a victim without being guilty of denial, or deliberate forgetfulness, or wishful thinking?

Joy is not the first word that naturally comes to mind when we think of the severity of Judaism as a moral code or the tear-stained pages of Jewish history.

Jews were the first to believe that an entire nation could govern itself in freedom and equal dignity. This has nothing to do with political structures, and everything to do collective moral responsibility.