Torah Learning Creates a Meritocracy

Lessons in True Leadership

Now for a Quick Devar Torah Today is Gimmel Tammuz, the third day of Tammuz, an important date in Jewish history that many people are not aware of. According to tradition, it was on this day that Joshua stopped the sun during the battle in the Valley of Ayalon. The event teaches us something important about leadership. Joshua inherited the mantle of leadership from Moses. For years he was Moses' student and disciple. Like Moses, Joshua did not seek power. He did not campaign for leadership or maneuver for position. He became leader because he was chosen by God, with Moses serving as the instrument of that choice. What stands out about both Moses and Joshua is that neither wanted leadership for its own sake. Moses spent days at the burning bush trying to avoid the job. Yet both men understood that once they were called, they had a responsibility to serve. This idea appears in this week's haftarah as well. The prophet Samuel responds to the people's demand for a king. God allows Saul to be appointed king, but Samuel makes clear what kingship means. The king is not there to enrich himself or to satisfy a desire for power. He is God's servant and the servant of the people. Leadership is not about privilege; it is about responsibility. That is the exact opposite of Korach's mistake. Korach looked at Moses and saw the trappings of leadership. He saw honor, influence, and authority. Moses, however, saw himself differently. The Torah's greatest description of Moses is not "ruler" or "commander." He is called Eved Hashem—the servant of God. It is fitting that we do not know where Moses is buried. The Torah deliberately conceals his burial place so that we would never turn Moses into an idol. Contrast this with many totalitarian regimes. In the former Soviet Union, in China, and in North Korea, the bodies of founding leaders are preserved and displayed. People are encouraged to venerate the individual. Judaism takes a different approach. We honor the teachings of our leaders, their character, and their service—not their physical remains. If someone asked us what Moses looked like, we could only guess. Perhaps he had a beard. Beyond that, we do not know, because the person is less important than the mission. The Torah even tells us that when Moses accounted for the donations to the Mishkan, he was extraordinarily careful to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. Our sages note that he had no pockets in which anyone could accuse him of hiding money. Moses understood that leadership requires transparency and accountability. This brings us back to Korach. Korach spoke the language of equality and fairness. His argument sounded reasonable: "The entire congregation is holy. Why should Moses and Aaron lead?" But beneath the rhetoric was a desire for power. History teaches us to be careful when people promise equality as a path to power. The Communist movements of the twentieth century promised equality, yet often produced societies in which everyone was equally poor—except for the ruling elite, who somehow became "more equal than others." True leaders do not seek power for themselves. They accept responsibility for others. Moses, Joshua, Samuel, and Saul at his best understood that leadership is service. Korach saw leadership as privilege. That difference made all the difference. Something to think about.

Looking Through The Correct Lens

One of the interesting sidelights in this week's parsha is the connection between the scouts and the mitzvah of tzitzit. When Moshe sends the delegation into the Land of Israel, the Torah uses the word latur—to tour or scout out the land. In modern Hebrew, the same root gives us the word for a tourist. At the end of the parsha, however, we encounter the mitzvah of tzitzit. There the Torah tells us: "Do not follow after your heart and after your eyes." What is the connection? Joshua and Caleb saw exactly the same land as the other ten scouts. They saw the same cities, the same fortifications, and the same giants. The facts were identical. What differed was the lens through which they viewed those facts. The ten scouts looked at the obstacles and concluded that success was impossible. "We were like grasshoppers in our own eyes," they said. The challenges seemed insurmountable. Joshua and Caleb looked at the very same reality and reached a different conclusion. They did not deny the difficulties. They did not claim the conquest would be easy. Rather, they said that God had commanded the Jewish people to enter the land. If God had brought them this far, then they had the ability to succeed. The obstacles were real, but so was God's promise. That is the lesson of tzitzit. The Torah tells us to look at the tzitzit and remember the mitzvot. It reminds us that what we see is often shaped by the perspective through which we view the world. Two people can look at the same situation and come away with entirely different conclusions. There is a story told about a group of Chabad women who attended a convention in Chicago. After Shabbat, a snowstorm prevented them from returning to New York. One of them was the wife of one of the Lubavitcher Rebbe's secretaries. When the secretary informed the Rebbe that his wife was "stuck" in Chicago, the Rebbe replied, "Stuck? No Jew is ever stuck. If they are there, then God has a purpose for them being there." The women took that message to heart. Since they could not leave, they spent their extra time distributing Shabbat candles and candleholders to Jewish women in Chicago. Years later, one of them returned and discovered that some of those women were still lighting Shabbat candles because of that encounter. One person sees a snowstorm and says, "I'm stuck." Another sees the same snowstorm and asks, "What opportunity has God placed before me?" That is the difference between the ten scouts and Joshua and Caleb. It is also the lesson of tzitzit. The Torah teaches us that there is no such thing as mere coincidence. We are challenged to look beyond the surface and ask what purpose and responsibility God is placing before us. The facts may be the same. The question is: through what lens are we looking at them? Something to think about.

Man Plans & God Laughs

The lesson of following the cloud in the wilderness is that we have to trust in God even if we have different plans. We have to realize that God knows what is best for us even if we don't

Everyone Deserves A Second Chance

Pesach Sheni teaches us that we all deserve a second chance. The catch is that we have to be deserving of it. If we do not work to achieve it we won't get it.

Everything In Moderation

The Torah wants us to partake in the pleasures of life but in moderation. That is why the Nazir, a person who denies himself wine, grapes, a haircut or any contact with a dead body usually for a month. After this period, he has to bring a sin offering. It is a sin not to have permitted pleasure.