“To deny a people the man whom it praises as the greatest of its sons is not a deed to be undertaken lightheartedly ... especially by one belonging to that people” - Sigmund Freud, Moses and Monotheism. In his final book, Freud argues that Moses was an Egyptian monotheist nobleman who led only his close followers into freedom. Once in the wilderness, they murdered him before merging with another monotheistic tribe to become the Israelites. After examining some of Freud’s ideas, we will attempt to answer various questions, including some from the audience. For example: Does it matter whether our stories are true or not? Does the delegitimisation of Moses delegitimise Judaism itself?
