Rabbi Dov Begon – Rosh Yeshiva of Machon Meir
Message for Today:
True Leadership
Before his death, Moses petitions G-d with a request that he appoint for the Jewish People a worthy leader: “Let the Omnipotent G-d of all living souls appoint a man over the community. Let him come and go before them, and let him bring them forth and lead them. Let God's community not be like sheep that have no shepherd” (Numbers 27:16-17).
Rashi elaborates on the traits of a good leader. First, he must be noble of spirit, and a complete enough person to encompass in his heart all of Israel:
“Moses addressed G-d: Master of the universe, the character of each person is revealed to you, and no two are alike. Appoint over them a leader who will tolerate each person according to his individual character.”
Second, he must be a leader who sets a personal example, takes responsibility and leads the camp, as it says, “Let him come and go before them”:
“Not like the kings of the gentile nations, who sit at home and send their armies to war, but as I did, for I fought Sihon and Og.”
Third, he should be righteous and meritorious enough to bring merit to the public through his righteousness. As it says, “Let him bring them forth and lead them” – through his merits.
Indeed, G-d responds to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man of spirit, and lay your hands on him…. Invest him with some of your splendor so that the entire Israelite community will obey him” (18-20).
Today, a leadership crisis has beset us. The feeling is that we have no leader, that Israel are like sheep without a shepherd. This situation requires us to make an effort to establish leadership of the sort that Moses sought, i.e., a noble, inspiring leader who can lead the nation despite the plethora of views and differences of opinion amongst them. After all, just as all men’s faces are different, so are their views different.
We need a leader who can set a personal example by his conduct, one who walks at the head of the camp and takes responsibility for what happens in our country. We need a righteous, meritorious leader whose righteousness can bring merit to the public, strengthen and elevate them. We need a leader like Joshua, son of Nun, who learned Torah and served Moses for many years, who stood at the head of an army and waged the wars of Israel, taking responsibility even when we were defeated in battle, at the Battle of Ai, and who fought corruption, apprehending Achan who had betrayed the taboo, and punishing him.
The day is not far off when the State of Israel will merit a leader with all the fine traits described.
Looking forward to complete salvation,
Shabbat Shalom
Topic: PARASHAT PINCHAS - True Leadership (Read 1973 times)