THREE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FACING JEWS TODAY PART 3 – LEADERSHIP: Four of its most essential ingredients Valley Beit Midrash 3-Part Series, March 1, 2016 Rabbi Pinchas Allouche, Congregation Beth Tefillah, [email protected] INGREDIENT ONE: EVERY PERSON IS A LEADER Book of Kings I, 7:13 And King Solomon sent and took Hiram from Tyre. He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naftali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a brass worker. He was filled with knowledge and understanding and intelligence, to perform all of the tasks involving brass. He came to King Solomon and performed all of his tasks. Abarbanel ibid. Who was the leading craftsman to build this most spiritual home? A simple Jew, Chiram, whose mother was an impoverished widow from the not very famous tribe of Naftali, and whose father was not even Jewish, but rather came from Tyre in Lebanon. Chassidic Commentary, based on Likkutei Torah, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi Chiram, who was chosen as one of the lead builders of the first temple, teaches us: Never underestimate your indispensable role; never denigrate your great calling and potential; never gaze at yourself as simple, little Jew with little affiliation to Judaism and its faith. It is from a Jew exactly as you that the future of the Jewish people was forged; it was the Jew like you—the one you call insignificant, small, alien, Jewishly illiterate, uneducated, who generated an explosion of holiness and goodness in the world through the Holy Temple in Jerusalem! Exodus 2:1-4 Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. One Riddling Question: It is time to elect a new world leader, and your vote counts. Here are the facts about the three leading candidates: Candidate A: Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologists. He’s had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day. Candidate B: He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of whisky every evening. Candidate C: He is a decorated war hero. He’s a vegetarian, doesn’t smoke, drinks an occasional beer and hasn’t had any extramarital affairs. Which of these candidates would be your choice? INGREDIENT TWO: LEADERSHIP WITH CARE Exodus 20:15 And all the people saw the voices and the torches, the sound of the shofar, and the smoking mountain, and the people saw and trembled… Genesis 29: Jacob arrives, after a long journey from the Land of Canaan to ancient Mesopotamia, at the city of Charan. There he encounters a well, surrounded by a number of shepherds and their sheep lying beside it. Jacob approaches these shepherds. The Torah records their detailed conversation: And Jacob said to them, "My brothers, where are you from?" And they said, "We are from Charan." And he said to them, "Do you know Laban the son of Nachor?" And they said, "We know [him]." And he said to them, "[Are things going] well with him?" And they said, "[Things are going] well, and behold, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep." And he said, "The day is yet long; it is not the time to take in the livestock. Water the sheep and go, pasture." Rashi ibid: Jacob said to them, “The day is yet long,” meaning, if you have been hired for the day, you have not completed the day’s work, and if the animals are yours, it is, nevertheless, not the time to take in the livestock. The shepherds responded to Jacob’s critique: And they said, "We cannot [do that], until all the flocks are gathered together, and they will roll the rock off the mouth of the well, and we shall [then] water the sheep." Leviticus 1:17 He [the poor man] shall split his sacrifice, the bird -- with its feathers -- he need not sever it; the Kohen shall cause it to go up in smoke on the Altar, on the wood that is on the fire -- it is an elevation-offering, a fire-offering, a satisfying aroma to G-d.” Rashi ibid. But surely you will not find even the simplest of people, who, when smelling the odor of burnt feathers, does not find it repulsive. Why then does Scripture command us to send [the feathers] up in smoke? Likkutei Sichot vol. 2 p. 597 When the Torah tells us to leave the feathers on the bird and place it that way on the burning altar, so as not to embarrass the pauper, it tells us what the burnt feathers will generate a “pleasant aroma to G-d.” They will smell as sweet as the most succulent beef. For can there be a more delightful smell to G-d than the one which spares embarrassment from a poor Jew? You and I may experience the smell of the burning feathers as awful; but for G-d, if this is conferring upon a poor Jew more dignity, strength, and joy—can you conceive of a more fragrant aroma than this? INGREDIENT THREE: LEADERSHIP MADE OF ONE PIECE Exodus 25:31 Of all the furniture to be built for the Tabernacle, the Menorah had to be made “miksha,” hammered out of a single piece of metal, silver or gold. The menorah was the five-foot-tall seven-branched golden candelabra, kindled every evening in the Sanctuary, casting its sacred glow on the surroundings. (The eight-branched Hannukah menorah is a commemoration of this nightly ritual in the Temple.) 1 Kings 3:17 My lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. On the third day after I gave birth she also gave birth… This woman's child died during the night because she lay on him. She arose during the night and took my son from my side while I slept, laid him on her bosom and laid her dead child on my bosom. When I rose in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead! But when I observed him in the morning, I realized that he was not my son to whom I had given birth." The other woman replied, "It is not so! My son is the live one and your son is the dead one." King Solomon briefly reiterated their arguments and ordered, "Bring me a sword." The King then said, "Cut the living child in two, and give half to one and half to the other." The woman who claimed that her son was stolen from her said, "Please, my master, give her the living child and do not kill it." But the other woman said, "Neither mine nor yours shall he be. Cut!" The king spoke up and said, "Give the first woman the living child and do not kill it; for she is his mother." INGREDIENT FOUR: LEADERSHIP WITH UNHINDERED ACTIONS Ruth Rabbah 5:6 Rabbi Yitzchak said: When a person does a mitzvah, he should do it with all his heart. Had Reuben known that the Torah would record these words “and Reuben heard [that his brothers were plotting to kill Joseph] and he saved him from their hands,” he would have carried Yosef back to his father on his shoulders! Had Aaron known the Torah would write about him, “And he will see you [Moses], and he will be joyous in his heart [without jealousy over Moses’ appointment as leader of Israel]” he would have come out to greet Moses with dancing and drums… Had Boaz known that the Torah would write about him that he gave Ruth parched grain, he would have fed her fattened calves. Rabbi Moshe Alshich: All of these three persons—Reuben, Aaron and Boaz—did something noble, beautiful, and kind, yet each of them was afraid to go all the way. Reuben was ambivalent. His mind debated: Maybe his brothers were right. Though in his gut he knew they were badly mistaken, he lacked the courage to take a decisive position. So instead of just saving Joseph, he did a half-job: Instead of killing him directly, he had them hurl him into a pit. Aaron too was afraid of demonstrating too much joy at his brother’s appointment, fearing that people might say it is disingenuous of Aaron to dance at his brother’s arrival, for he is certainly envious,. So he contained his true excitement for his brother’s appointment as Israel’s redeemer. Boaz too was in doubt. If he gives this poor woman much more food will people not suspect that he is trying to seduce her? So he decided to give her modestly. Each of these three leaders erred, for those were a missed opportunity. Had they known how G-d viewed their actions, that would have given them the courage and fortitude, to ignore all the fears and get the job done fully. What about us? Midrash Ruth Rabba, 5:6 In the days of yore, a person did a mitzvah and the prophet transcribed it; now when a person does a mitzvah who transcribes it? Elijah, and Moshiach.