Dear Friends,
This week’s Torah portion finds the Israelites still wandering in the wilderness. The burdens of leadership have become overwhelming for Moses. He is exhausted, frustrated, depleted. So God instructs him to gather seventy elders who will help carry the responsibility of leadership.
But then something unexpected happens.
Two men, Eldad and Medad, who are not part of the formal gathering, who are not standing in the Tent with everyone else, also begin to prophesy.
Joshua is alarmed and says, “My lord Moses, stop them!”
And Moses responds, “Would that all God’s people were prophets.”
Would that everyone possessed wisdom.
Would that everyone carried moral courage.
Would that everyone understood they had something sacred to contribute.
Clearly Moses, perhaps the greatest leader our tradition has ever known, understands something profound: The purpose of leadership is not to create followers.
It is to help create more leaders.
Or, as the opening lines of the parashah suggest, the task is to raise the flame until it burns on its own. That is the image used when Aaron lights the menorah. The flame must be held carefully until it becomes self-sustaining. Not dependent. Not temporary. Able to shine on its own.
And perhaps that is one of the fundamental truths of communal life: it depends upon each member of the community bringing their unique gifts to the greater whole.
After all, when people feel empowered…
when wisdom is shared…
when responsibility is shared…
when people truly believe this sacred community not only belongs to them, but relies upon them…
Then the light continues.
For thirty-four years, I have had the extraordinary privilege of helping hold that flame together with all of you. And as I move toward retirement, I take great comfort and satisfaction in knowing that this congregation is filled with people who carry light.
I see it in our clergy—in Rabbi Klein’s intelligence, compassion, steadiness, and vision; in Cantor Moses’ soul and heart; in Heather Brochin’s leadership and commitment.
I see it in our staff.
In our lay leadership.
In those who teach.
Those who volunteer.
Those who quietly show up every single time someone is hurting.
Those who sustain this place in ways most people never see.
The truth is: the future of this congregation does not depend on one person. It never did. Its future depends on whether people continue to say:
“This matters.”
“This community matters.”
“Judaism matters.”
“We matter to one another.”
And I believe with all my heart that TSTI’s future is bright because this community understands exactly that.
There is another layer to Moses’ statement that feels especially important right now: “Would that all God’s people were prophets.” In Judaism, a prophet is not primarily someone who predicts the future. A prophet is someone who refuses to become numb.
Someone who still believes the world can be better.
Someone who still feels responsibility.
Someone who still hears the cry of the vulnerable.
Someone who still believes truth matters, compassion matters, and holiness matters.
And perhaps in our time, a time of so much anger, cruelty, division, loneliness, and noise, what we need most are not more celebrities, influencers, or pundits. We need more prophets.
We need people willing to speak with moral clarity, willing to build community, willing to listen before judging, and willing to carry hope when cynicism would be easier. That is sacred work.
And the beautiful thing is that Judaism insists it is not reserved for a select few.
“Would that all God’s people were prophets.”
All of us.
Every one of us has the capacity to bring more compassion into the world. More healing. More decency. More light. The wilderness generation needed to learn that holiness could not reside only in Moses. Every generation ultimately learns a similar lesson: the future is only secure when new hands and voices take up the mantle of leadership and new flames are lit.
Thank you all for the privilege of helping carry TSTI’s light all these years. I am grateful for our remaining weeks together and cannot wait to hear all the amazing things that will follow.
Shabbat Shalom,Rabbi Daniel Cohen