The Message of Leadership

Friday, August 15, 2008
Rabbi Seymour Rossel

The message at the start of this week's Torah portion, Va'Etchanan, is semi-tragic and semi-sweet. It is the simple truth of human existence. We are limited in what we can accomplish as individuals, no matter how much we may have already accomplished.

In the portion, Moses pleads to be allowed to cross over into the Promised Land, but God says, "Stop kvetching, don't complain to me anymore about this need of yours to complete the task. It is enough for you to have the vision of what the future will be like. Climb to the top of the mountain and take a look at what lies ahead for your children and their children. That is the most that you can do."

But that is only part of the message. Moses will not be permitted to complete the task, but he must not just blindly hand the leadership over to his children. God makes it clear that Moses' own children are not prepared for the kind of leadership that the community now requires. God singles out Joshua as the next leader of the Israelites. And God tells Moses to give Joshua a Hazak V'Amatz, literally to "strengthen and encourage" him.

It is Joshua who is Moses' personal bodyguard, who has guarded the Tent of Meeting day and night, who has led the people into battle. It is Joshua who, by his apprenticeship with Moses, is prepared to lead the people. Moses' own children have played almost no part in the drama in the wilderness. They are untested and untrained. So it is Joshua who will be the next Moses and not they. Thus, we learn the meaning of leadership.

Being a leader is more than just an honor. The fate of the community rests on our leaders. The rabbis explained this with one of my favorite parables, and you may have heard me tell it before (and you may hear me tell it again, because it is that important):

One day, the serpent's tail said to its head, "How much longer will you move first? I want to go first."

The head said, "Go!" So the tail went ahead. Now, when it came to a water hole, the tail flung the serpent's head into the water. When it encountered fire, the tail flung the serpent's head into the fire. And when the tail came to thorns, it flung the serpent's head into their midst. What caused these misfortunes to befall the serpent?

It all came about because the serpent allowed its head to follow its tail.

In the same way, when the community follows the guidance of wise leaders, the leaders are strengthened and encouraged by their knowledge that God is with them, and both the community and God will respect what they decree. But when the leaders are not wise, they allow themselves to be led by the complaining and the kvetching of the community -- and when that happens, both the community and the leaders inevitably share in whatever misfortunes follow.

Our prayer for these leaders that we have installed tonight is that they may be strong enough and find enough encouragement to use their vision. They may not be able to complete the tasks they set out for themselves, but completing the tasks is not the end goal. What is truly essential is that they train up new leaders to take their place and continue their work, that, just as they were strengthened and encouraged, they should strengthen and encourage others to take their place. In this way, the community will not fall into the hands of the weak and the untested. And, in this way, the vision of the strong congregation that we are and that we can remain will continue to guide us from one group of leaders to the next. And let us say, Amen.