We just came back from a few weeks in Canada. When people realized we were from the USA, we heard a few comments. Like, “Glad the War of 1812 didn’t quite work out for you.” The War of 1812, you may recall, involved numerous invasions of Canada. But more than questioning the past, we got a few comments from the generally quite polite Canadians to the effect of, “What’s up with your leadership – eh?” A British man we met at a hotel said that England is looking at the US as kind of a soap opera.
Now, as I’ve said before, I’m not Stephen Colbert. It’s not my job to bring humor to the current situation though I sometimes have funny things to say, as I’m sure we all do. And I’m not Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett and company delivering clever, partisan podcasts. It’s not my role to share a partisan analysis of contemporary events.
This morning we read once again the moment when Moses is made to realize that he’s not going to enter the land with the people. And it’s quite sad. For decades he has done a job that he didn’t want. He wants to see the land – he begs God to let him enter and see הארץ הטוב הזה ha’aratz hatov hazeh – this good land.
And he’s told לא תנחיל את העם אל הארץ lo tanhil et ha’am el ha’aretz – you’re not going to lead the people into the land.
There’s pathos here – Moses is being told that he’s not going to be able to complete his life’s work.
This seems unfair. And when we talk about it, we tend to focus on, what did Moses do that was so terrible? Lost his cool when the people pushed his buttons?
Though I’ve struggled to try to understand the apparent unfairness of this, I’ve increasingly tried to see this moment, where Moses realizes and accepts that he’s not going to move forward with the people, as crucial in his life and essential for civilization.
It demonstrates that the leader is not irreplaceable. And that what matters essentially, therefore, is not the ego of the leader but the larger cause. Which, for the children of Israel, is the creation of a just society .
Moses is being told, It’s not primarily about you. It’s not primarily about your ego or your fulfillment. What matters most is the just society that the people, inspired by you, will create. That society will be rooted in a Torah which constitutes the ongoing dialogue between God and humanity, a Torah which unfolds one generation at a time, requiring people of good will to analyze, update and protect.
This underscores the message that was shared throughout Moses’s life. He is repeatedly referred to as משה האיש Moshe ha’ish, Moses the man. Always he is the important, but very human, participant in an enterprise that is not ultimately about him, but about creating a just society in the world. The handoff from Moses to Joshua confirms that Moses’s leadership is about the self in service. Service to God, to Torah, to the people.
That was part 1. For Part 2, a month after July 4, I'd like to consider George Washington. Washington only wanted to serve a single term and was convinced to serve a second term but he refused to serve a third and prepared and delivered a farewell speech. What stands out for me about this speech is that it demonstrates that the leader is a servant of the cause, a servant of the people. During the early years of the establishment of our nation, it wasn’t at all clear how much power the president would wield, there was ambiguity and much fear surrounding whether the president would become similar to the kings and queens of Europe. By saying goodbye to the presidency, Washington made it clear that he wasn’t a king and that this national experiment wasn’t primarily about him. You are welcome to read through the address or, if you prefer, I refer you to the song, “One Last Time” from the musical Hamilton, where Washington explains to Hamilton that he needs to teach the American people how to say goodbye.
For Moses, the blueprint of the newly emerging society was Torah; for Washington it was the constitution which, like the Torah, requires people of good will to analyze, update, and protect.
It is painful, in our own day, to witness leadership that is more about the ego of the leader than the enterprise of forging a just society for the people.
Thankfully there are numerous current examples of leadership that appropriately demonstrate the self in service of a worthy larger cause.
With deep gratitude, I want to acknowledge the ongoing leadership of the members of our armed forces who defend our country every day. Members of our armed forces – all races, all sexual orientations, all gender identities, all ethnicities we say God bless them for their service. You want to serve in the military and you are capable, the only proper response is a profound “Thank you.”
While in Canada, De and I visited the citadel in Halifax and saw an exhibit on the history of the Canadian armed forces. We learned of a black officer who was nominated for a national award following his service in World War II but never received it because of his race. His family was awarded it a few years ago, well after the officers’ death. Progress. Forward movement. For everyone willing to exercise the leadership that puts self in service of other, rather than other in service of self, for everyone willing to put their lives on the line to protect our nation, the response should be “Thank you.”
I want to express gratitude to members of congress who recently put their sense of what’s right ahead of political expediency. One member of congress, Shelly Moore Capito of WV, said about her opposition to the recent health care proposals, “I didn’t come to Washington to hurt people.”
The type of leadership I’m describing doesn’t require us to ignore ourselves.
Ideally we use our gifts and our courage to serve a larger cause.
When we were in Saint John, New Brunswick, we visited the Jewish Museum which is housed in a synagogue. De and I got a personal tour from Dan Elman,a retired octogenarian physician who grew up in that community. He is unassuming, funny, a treasure trove of stories about the history of the community. He spoke about the growth of the community, followed by a decline, and the recent successful effort to recruit new families, which include Israeli families who have joined. He is still a leader in the community, still giving tours, still setting up chairs, still worried about paying the bills, still brainstorming ways to make the community more vibrant.
And while he, like so many people who serve the Jewish community, is deriving enormous personal satisfaction from the work – what he does is clearly not about his ego.
Yishar Ko'ah. Hazak u'varukh to everyone who brings heart and soul to the work of sustaining and enriching the communities in which they live.
I want to end by encouraging all of us to exercise leadership in ways that sustain a larger project.
The satisfaction we often gain can be a fortunate outcome of our service, but our satisfaction is not the essence of our service.
Moses's good bye reinforced that, as did George Washington's.
And it was Eleanor Roosevelt who wrote the following about the importance of communal leadership and advocacy:
“In the final analysis, a democratic government represents the sum total of the courage and the integrity of its individuals.”
Not look at me. But look at us. Look at what we're part of. That's true leadership.
Originally shared with the Temple Israel of Great Neck community on August 5, 2017
Now, as I’ve said before, I’m not Stephen Colbert. It’s not my job to bring humor to the current situation though I sometimes have funny things to say, as I’m sure we all do. And I’m not Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett and company delivering clever, partisan podcasts. It’s not my role to share a partisan analysis of contemporary events.
Dan Elman, a leader of the Saint John, New Brunswick, Jewish Community
It is my task as a rabbi to view the present with the insights that come from our rich past – to offer Torat Chayim – to bring Torah to life, to our lives. The Torah has much to teach us about the dangers of ego-driven leadership and the nature of true leadership. So here we go...This morning we read once again the moment when Moses is made to realize that he’s not going to enter the land with the people. And it’s quite sad. For decades he has done a job that he didn’t want. He wants to see the land – he begs God to let him enter and see הארץ הטוב הזה ha’aratz hatov hazeh – this good land.
And he’s told לא תנחיל את העם אל הארץ lo tanhil et ha’am el ha’aretz – you’re not going to lead the people into the land.
There’s pathos here – Moses is being told that he’s not going to be able to complete his life’s work.
This seems unfair. And when we talk about it, we tend to focus on, what did Moses do that was so terrible? Lost his cool when the people pushed his buttons?
Though I’ve struggled to try to understand the apparent unfairness of this, I’ve increasingly tried to see this moment, where Moses realizes and accepts that he’s not going to move forward with the people, as crucial in his life and essential for civilization.
It demonstrates that the leader is not irreplaceable. And that what matters essentially, therefore, is not the ego of the leader but the larger cause. Which, for the children of Israel, is the creation of a just society .
Moses is being told, It’s not primarily about you. It’s not primarily about your ego or your fulfillment. What matters most is the just society that the people, inspired by you, will create. That society will be rooted in a Torah which constitutes the ongoing dialogue between God and humanity, a Torah which unfolds one generation at a time, requiring people of good will to analyze, update and protect.
This underscores the message that was shared throughout Moses’s life. He is repeatedly referred to as משה האיש Moshe ha’ish, Moses the man. Always he is the important, but very human, participant in an enterprise that is not ultimately about him, but about creating a just society in the world. The handoff from Moses to Joshua confirms that Moses’s leadership is about the self in service. Service to God, to Torah, to the people.
That was part 1. For Part 2, a month after July 4, I'd like to consider George Washington. Washington only wanted to serve a single term and was convinced to serve a second term but he refused to serve a third and prepared and delivered a farewell speech. What stands out for me about this speech is that it demonstrates that the leader is a servant of the cause, a servant of the people. During the early years of the establishment of our nation, it wasn’t at all clear how much power the president would wield, there was ambiguity and much fear surrounding whether the president would become similar to the kings and queens of Europe. By saying goodbye to the presidency, Washington made it clear that he wasn’t a king and that this national experiment wasn’t primarily about him. You are welcome to read through the address or, if you prefer, I refer you to the song, “One Last Time” from the musical Hamilton, where Washington explains to Hamilton that he needs to teach the American people how to say goodbye.
For Moses, the blueprint of the newly emerging society was Torah; for Washington it was the constitution which, like the Torah, requires people of good will to analyze, update, and protect.
It is painful, in our own day, to witness leadership that is more about the ego of the leader than the enterprise of forging a just society for the people.
Thankfully there are numerous current examples of leadership that appropriately demonstrate the self in service of a worthy larger cause.
With deep gratitude, I want to acknowledge the ongoing leadership of the members of our armed forces who defend our country every day. Members of our armed forces – all races, all sexual orientations, all gender identities, all ethnicities we say God bless them for their service. You want to serve in the military and you are capable, the only proper response is a profound “Thank you.”
While in Canada, De and I visited the citadel in Halifax and saw an exhibit on the history of the Canadian armed forces. We learned of a black officer who was nominated for a national award following his service in World War II but never received it because of his race. His family was awarded it a few years ago, well after the officers’ death. Progress. Forward movement. For everyone willing to exercise the leadership that puts self in service of other, rather than other in service of self, for everyone willing to put their lives on the line to protect our nation, the response should be “Thank you.”
I want to express gratitude to members of congress who recently put their sense of what’s right ahead of political expediency. One member of congress, Shelly Moore Capito of WV, said about her opposition to the recent health care proposals, “I didn’t come to Washington to hurt people.”
The type of leadership I’m describing doesn’t require us to ignore ourselves.
Ideally we use our gifts and our courage to serve a larger cause.
When we were in Saint John, New Brunswick, we visited the Jewish Museum which is housed in a synagogue. De and I got a personal tour from Dan Elman,a retired octogenarian physician who grew up in that community. He is unassuming, funny, a treasure trove of stories about the history of the community. He spoke about the growth of the community, followed by a decline, and the recent successful effort to recruit new families, which include Israeli families who have joined. He is still a leader in the community, still giving tours, still setting up chairs, still worried about paying the bills, still brainstorming ways to make the community more vibrant.
And while he, like so many people who serve the Jewish community, is deriving enormous personal satisfaction from the work – what he does is clearly not about his ego.
Yishar Ko'ah. Hazak u'varukh to everyone who brings heart and soul to the work of sustaining and enriching the communities in which they live.
I want to end by encouraging all of us to exercise leadership in ways that sustain a larger project.
The satisfaction we often gain can be a fortunate outcome of our service, but our satisfaction is not the essence of our service.
Moses's good bye reinforced that, as did George Washington's.
And it was Eleanor Roosevelt who wrote the following about the importance of communal leadership and advocacy:
“In the final analysis, a democratic government represents the sum total of the courage and the integrity of its individuals.”
Not look at me. But look at us. Look at what we're part of. That's true leadership.
Originally shared with the Temple Israel of Great Neck community on August 5, 2017
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