Dear Friends,
This week’s Torah Portion, Parashat Va-Et’hanan, is the second portion in Deuteronomy, the fifth and final book of the Torah. It continues Moses’ speeches to the Israelite people as they prepare to enter the Land of Israel. While you may not be familiar with the portion itself you are familiar with some of its content. You see, this portion includes the words of the Shema and the Vahavtah. Thus, each time members of the Jewish community gather for prayer, words from Parashat Va-Et’hanan are part of our worship.
I’ve been thinking about this entire fifth and final book of the Torah this week, for when taken as a whole, it offers powerful insights into what it means to be a leader.
As I mentioned in last week’s Shabbat Message, Deuteronomy is largely a series of farewell speeches by Moses to the People of Israel.
He reminds them of their miraculous escape after generations of Egyptian slavery. In this way Moses teaches the people that remembering where we had been, while not determinative of the future, is important as we chart a path forward.
He recounts their trials during their desert wanderings and the many times both he and God forgave the people’s missteps and lack of faith and trust. By so doing Moses makes clear that members of a community must be generous of spirit and forgiving of one another if they are to survive and thrive.
And he reiterates the terms and importance of the Brit, the covenant they entered into with God. Never one to sugar coat his message, Moses tells the people that even if they observe God’s laws, life will not be easy or simple, but ultimately they will succeed and thrive. Moses shows himself to be a realist and hopes to impart an understanding to the people that even if you do everything right, life will still be difficult at times.
But the most important lesson on leadership Moses offers becomes clear only when you take the entire Book of Deuteronomy and the context in which it appears as a whole. You see, Moses gives this instruction as he prepares to die. He offers this guidance and wisdom fully aware that even as he prepares the people to enter the land, he will not be with them when they do.
Moses did not want the job of leading the people. In fact, when God first called upon him to lead, Moses argued that he was not the man for the task. Moses endured the criticism, backsliding, and at times backstabbing of the people he was called to lead. But he nevertheless persevered.
After years of challenge and indignity the ultimate prize—entering the land promised to Abraham—is finally at hand, yet Moses is fully aware that he will not share in the ultimate success of the journey that he has been on for decades. He could have felt angry, resentful, or cheated. But by offering these speeches at this time and with the knowledge that he possessed, Moses makes clear to the people that his leadership was never about him. He had a job to do and it was not for his personal benefit. His role as leader was to prepare the people for their next chapter—even if he was not going to participate in it. And in Deuteronomy, that is exactly what he does.
True leaders understand that as soon as they take of the mantle leadership, it is no longer about themselves. They are there to guide, advise, and help others. (Interestingly, in Hebrew the word used to refer to the “mantle of leadership” is “yoke.”)
Thus, in addition to his humility and patience, Moses embodies what is called servant leadership—a type of leadership we desperately need, where the individual tasked with guiding a community understands they are there to serve others and not themselves.
Whether a synagogue, a town or a country, that is the type of leadership we deserve.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Daniel Cohen