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Thoughts on the Parsha ~
Parshas Pinchas
Core Credentials
By: Daniel Listhaus
וַיְדַבֵּר
משֶׁה אֶל ה' לֵאמֹר: יִפְקֹד ה' אֱלֹקי הָרוּחֹת לְכָל בָּשָׂר אִישׁ עַל הָעֵדָה: אֲשֶׁר יֵצֵא לִפְנֵיהֶם וַאֲשֶׁר יָבֹא לִפְנֵיהֶם וַאֲשֶׁר
יוֹצִיאֵם וַאֲשֶׁר יְבִיאֵם וְלֹא תִהְיֶה עֲדַת ה' כַּצֹּאן אֲשֶׁר אֵין לָהֶם רֹעֶה: וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל משֶׁה קַח לְךָ אֶת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן אִישׁ
אֲשֶׁר רוּחַ בּוֹ וְסָמַכְתָּ אֶת יָדְךָ עָלָיו: וְהַעֲמַדְתָּ אֹתוֹ לִפְנֵי אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן וְלִפְנֵי כָּל
הָעֵדָה וְצִוִּיתָה אֹתוֹ לְעֵינֵיהֶם: וְנָתַתָּה מֵהוֹדְךָ עָלָיו לְמַעַן יִשְׁמְעוּ כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי
יִשְׂרָאֵל: וְלִפְנֵי
אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן יַעֲמֹד וְשָׁאַל לוֹ בְּמִשְׁפַּט הָאוּרִים לִפְנֵי ה' עַל
פִּיו יֵצְאוּ וְעַל פִּיו יָבֹאוּ הוּא וְכָל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אִתּוֹ וְכָל
הָעֵדָה: וַיַּעַשׂ משֶׁה כַּאֲשֶׁר
צִוָּה ה' אֹתוֹ וַיִּקַּח אֶת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וַיַּעֲמִדֵהוּ לִפְנֵי אֶלְעָזָר
הַכֹּהֵן וְלִפְנֵי כָּל הָעֵדָה: וַיִּסְמֹךְ
אֶת יָדָיו עָלָיו וַיְצַוֵּהוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר ה' בְּיַד משֶׁה
“Moshe spoke to
Hashem, saying, 'May Hashem, G-d of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man
over the assembly, who shall go out before them and come in before them, who
shall take them out and who shall bring them in; and let the assembly of Hashem
not be like sheep that have no shepherd.' Hashem said to Moshe, 'Take to
yourself Yehoshua son of Nun, a man in whom there is spirit, and lean your hand
upon him. You shall stand him before Elazar the kohen and before the
entire assembly, and command him before their eyes. You shall place of your
splendor upon him, so that the entire assembly of the Children of Israel will
pay heed. Before Elazar the kohen shall he stand, and he shall inquire
of him of the judgment of the Urim before Hashem; by his word shall they go out
and by his word shall they come in, he and all the Children of Israel with him,
and the entire assemble.' Moshe did as Hashem had commanded him. He took
Yehoshua and stood him before Elazar the kohen and ind before the entire
assembly. He leaned his hands upon him and commanded him, as Hashem had spoken
through Moshe.”
-Pinchas 27:16-23
Hashem
reminded Moshe that because of his sin with hitting the rock, he would not be
allowed to enter Eretz Yisroel. Therefore, a new leader had to be
appointed. The new leader would have to be one capable of following in Moshe's
footsteps and leading a stubborn B'nei Yisroel out of the midbar (desert)
and into their next stage of conquering Eretz Yisroel. If we take
the moment to read through the passukim carefully, listening to the
conversation between Hashem and Moshe, we will find what the Torah values most
when it comes to looking for someone capable of leading the nation of Hashem.
The
Torah[1]
relates when Moshe davened (prayed) to Hashem to ask that He appoint a
suitable successor, Moshe referred to Hashem as “elokei ha'ruchos” (G-d
of the spirits). Rashi[2]
explains that by using this expression, he was in fact davening: “Master
of the World! The personality of each individual is revealed before You; they
do not resemble each other. Appoint a leader who can put up with each
individual according to his personality.”
It
is fascinating that if one stands two people alongside each other and analyzes
their features part by part, it is often very difficult to figure out which
part is so drastically different that the people should have such unique
features. Yet, it is a fact that people look different from one another. Chazal
tell us based on the Gemara[3]
that just as our faces are not the same, neither are our minds. Each person
sees things in a different light from a different perspective. Some thoughts
may be similar while others will contrast as much as black and white. A proper
leader must be able to appreciate each person's unique personality and be able
to deal with each individual appropriately. His task is the ultimate challenge
of receiving people b'seiver panim yafos;[4]
not merely always smiling or always serious, but rather “b'seiver”. A
leader must put thought into his countenance depending on each
individual, case by case. This is one quality which Moshe stresses as being of
utmost importance. Someone placed in an authoritative position leading a group
and wanting to help them grow, must be able to be in-tuned to the different
dynamics that by definition exists and varies based on each individual, and be
able to wisely deal with each one accordingly.
Moshe continues his tefillah (prayer) saying
that the leader should be one who shall go out before them and come in before
them. Rashi[5]
explains that Moshe was saying the following: “Hashem, may You choose a
leader who does not act in the manner of the kings of the other nations who sit
in their palaces and send their armies off to war, but rather act as I [Moshe]
did, for I did battle against Sichon and Og.”
From this part of Moshe's tefillah we gather a
second equally important attribute a leader must have, namely he must practice
what he preaches. It is very easy to lecture and give commands and then sit
back and watch as they get done, or disciple when they do not get accomplished.
However, such behavior is less than insufficient, it is counter-productive. It
gives quite a mixed message when the one preaching does not act as such
himself, and it creates, whether consciously or subconsciously, a definite
confusion and possibly even a strong dislike or hatred to the one giving the
orders. A true leader does not ask of things he does not do himself. If he is
asking his subjects to go to war, he
will lead them into the war himself. If he is suggesting ways of living, he
will follow them as well. This is true even in a general sense of leading, and
so much more when the leader has the responsibility of relating the commands of
Hashem.
Continuing the narrative in the Torah, the next couple of
passukim relate what Hashem responded to Moshe. Rashi[6]
states that Hashem told Moshe to take Yehoshua with words, meaning, that Moshe
should say to him how fortunate and privileged he is to lead the children of
Hashem. Yet, it is only one passuk[7]
later when Hashem continues to tell Moshe to warn his successor that the
job of leading B'nei Yisroel is not an easy one. As Rashi[8]
describes, B'nei Yisroel are troublesome and uncooperative.
Along these
lines, there is an old joke that a United States President phoned the Israeli
Prime Minister and started complaining about how difficult it was being
president over a country of people and having to hear the constant complaints
and being blamed for everything. The Israeli Prime Minister replied, “Big deal.
You only need to be president over a country full of people. I need to be
president over a country full of presidents.”
B'nei Yisroel is a hard nation to lead, and anyone
who leads B'nei Yisroel should be reminded of this and that if they are
to accept the position, an understanding of this is imperative just as Hashem
told Moshe to forewarn Yehoshua appropriately. However, the correct mindset
that goes along with it is not a huge sigh, but rather as Rashi puts so
beautifully, “You are fortunate, for you are privileged to lead the children of
G-d!” A pure-hearted leader of K'lal Yisroel does not get tired out from
helping the people and putting up with all the nonsense because in the end of
the day there is a drive which surpasses it all, and that is the amazing
privilege of being in a position of leading the children of Hashem. This is the
mindset necessary to be a good leader of B'nei Yisroel.
The next passuk[9]
continues Hashem's instructions to Moshe regarding appointing a new leader.
Hashem tells Moshe to place his splendor upon his successor. Rashi[10]
elaborates that Moshe's face was like the sun and Yehoshua's face was like
the moon. Besides for the pashut p'shat (simple explanation) fact that
Hashem was stating that there will never be a navi (prophet) or leader
as great as Moshe rabbeinu, there is perhaps another underlying point
being hinted to here. The moon does not give off its own light, but rather just
reflects what it is able to get from the sun. Perhaps with this moshol (parable)
we could extract yet another vital property of a Jewish leader. It may be true
that as generations go on, the light that the moon reflects gets less and less,
however the most important aspect is that it is reflecting its light from the
sun. No matter the “qualifications” of a leader, the ultimate qualification is
the fact he has a rebbe and a mesorah (tradition) going up to
Moshe rabbeinu. Someone who self-declares himself as being smart enough
to lead is foolish and is missing the most critical qualifier of having a rebbe
with a mesorah. One must not be a leader with his own light but
rather that which reflects off the sun. This is yet another vital factor in
choosing a leader for K'lal Yisroel, which we learn from Hashem's
conversation with Moshe.
The Torah[11]
concludes this segment by describing that Moshe did exactly as Hashem commanded
him and took Yehoshua and stood him before Elazar Ha'Kohen. Moshe then
leaned his hands on Yehoshua – giving him the first semicha in history –
and commanded him everything Hashem told him. Rashi[12]
points out that really, Hashem
commanded Moshe to lean his hand on Yehoshua, yet the Torah accounts
that Moshe leaned his hands on Yehoshua, more than Hashem commanded him,
as if to demonstrate that he was generously overfilling Yehoshua to the brim
with his wisdom.
The Kli Yakar[13]
asks that according to Rashi's explanation that Moshe in fact did more
than he was commanded, how could Moshe have done so? Isn't that an issue of bal
tosef – the negative commandment to add to mitzvos? If Hashem gives
a commandment with a specific number then we are not allowed to add to that.
For example, on Succos we are commanded to bring four species. Not three
and not five. So if Hashem commanded Moshe to lean one hand, how could he have
leaned both his hands?
The Kli Yakar offers the following answer which givers
further insight into the responsibility of a Jewish leader. The Kli Yakar writes
that Moshe was to lean his hand in the same way as we find by karbanos (offerings).
In the parsha of karbanos, the Torah also uses the singular form
to describe the kohen leaning his hand on the animal, yet in practice it
describes Aharon leaning both his hands on the karbon. Moshe
replicated the form of the commandment and practice as mentioned by the karbonos
at the time of appointing Yehoshua in order to demonstrate that the role of the
leader is to bear the burden of the various sins and mistakes of the nation.
Just as the karbon must carry the burden of the aveiros (sins),
so too a leader of K'lal Yisroel must be willing to be responsible for
everyone under his care.
Perhaps there is even an additional message which could
be gleaned from this Rashi and Kli Yakar. A leader must be there
purely for the people and not for any selfish purpose whatsoever. If one stops
for a moment and thinks about political positions, when a mayor, governor, or
president must give up his position after a complete term or by being voted
out, one will never find him truly wishing that his successor do as good a job
as he. Each president wants to be the one to be remembered and wants to take up
the biggest section in the history books. Often to try to achieve this
politicians will bad-mouth their successors or sarcastically challenge them to
do as good a job. However, those are properties of a bad person and very far
from the characteristics of a good leader. A good leader wishes only for the
ultimate success of the people. This means that a good leader would do all he
could to try to find a successor that is just as good or better than himself so
that he could pass on his charge of taking care of the people he loves to a
suitable person. Perhaps this is yet another idea being pointed out by the
Torah and Rashi, that Moshe was someone who truly loved and cared for
the B'nei Yisroel, therefore, as depressing as it was to have to give up
his position and prepare to face death, Moshe put both hands on Yehoshua to
express that he wanted to give him everything he had with a beracha (blessing)
that Yehoshua have the capacity of strength and wisdom to lead K'lal
Yisroel like Moshe himself.
The mishna[14]
states that there are four types of people who give tzedaka. The
first is someone who is willing to give tzedaka (charity) but wishes
that no one else does. The mishna refers to such a person as begrudging
of others. Here is a person who looks
like he is doing a nice thing by giving tzedaka but it is clearly for
only selfish reasons. The proof is in the fact that he does not want others to
give. He cares more about being in the spotlight, than the poor people having
food to eat. He couldn't care less about the poor people; if he did he would
encourage others to give as well. The same thing is true when it comes to a
leader. A good leader wants only what is best for his people. If there is
someone else helping him lead and doing a good job, he should not be jealous,
because as long as the people are benefiting, he should be happy. Someone who
tries to undermine the good of others is clearly not a leader but rather a
haughty person who wants to steal the spotlight.
When we speak of leaders, the term is not limited to a
king or president of countries or nations. Rather, a leader in K'lal Yisroel
includes anyone of influence whether a friend, mentor, camp counselor, rebbe,
rav, or community leader. The group could be big, it could be small; it
could be a less involved role or a more aggressive one. It could be at work, or
in school; with frum people, or ones needing kiruv. No matter the
details, the guidelines from this week's parsha apply all the same. A
key leader is someone who has a rebbe with a mesorah and
understands and cares deeply for every individual in his sphere of influence;
and despite the trouble and white hairs that are bound to come, he remains
driven with the privilege he has to be involved with the growth and helping of
Hashem's children. He is also more than
happy to bear the responsibilities that come with his role without any jealousy
of those who are capable of inputting productively.
May Hashem help us realize our own spheres of influence
and guide the leaders of K'lal Yisroel along the mindset of Moshe as he
placed his hands on Yehoshua.
[1] Bamidbar 27:16
[2] Rashi ibid.
[3] Berachos 58a
[4] See Mishna Avos 1:15
[5] Rashi Bamidbar 27:17
[6] Rashi Bamidbar 27:18
[7] Bamidbar 27:19
[8] Rashi ibid.
[9] Bamidbar 27:20
[10] Rashi Bamidbar 27:20
[11] Bamidbar 27:22-23
[12] Rashi Bamidbar 27:23
[13] Bamidbar 27:18
[14] Avos 5:16
Photo Credit: readingbodylanguagenow.com/readingbodylanguageofleaderspart1/
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