Crisis of Leadership
Adapted from Rabbi Braun’s sermon in 5770
Everybody knows that Moshe was punished because he hit the rock when he should have spoken to it. That is his sin and that is why he does not enter the land of Israel.
While that is certainly what we are taught from infancy, it is not necessarily true. The Torah does not state it explicitly and the majority of the commentators do not adopt that approach.
One fascinating new approach argues that Moshe is not necessarily punished for a particular sin, rather he simply is no longer able to lead the people and thus a new generation of leaders is needed to guide them, i.e. Joshua and Caleb.
For this approach the critical paragraph is not the one describing the hitting of the rock, it is the one immediately preceding it.
Miriam dies and there is no water. The people as they always do come to Moshe and Aaron and complain. “Vayirev ha’am im Moshe” the people fought with Moshe and said why did you bring us out to kill us in the desert? How do Moshe and Aaron’s respond?
במדבר פרק כ
ו) וַיָּבֹא מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן מִפְּנֵי הַקָּהָל אֶל פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וַיִּפְּלוּ עַל פְּנֵיהֶם וַיֵּרָא כְבוֹד יְקֹוָק אֲלֵיהֶם: פ
They retreat to Ohel Moed and fall on their faces. The image itself is striking. The people come with a complaint and all Moshe and Aaron can do is fall on their faces.
Beyond the image itself this is a verse exploding with meaning. Every time a word or phrase is used in the Torah God assumes that we will immediately connect it to the other places that those words or phrases are used and see the common link or theme that the connection implies. We have encountered וַיִּפְּלוּ עַל פְּנֵיהֶם a couple of times in the last few weeks. In chapter 13 the spies come back with the negative report and argue that the Jews will not succeed in their military conquest. The people come at Moshe and Aaron with the chorus of why did you take us out for us to die in the desert, we should have stayed in Egypt. And then we read:
במדבר פרק יד
ה) וַיִּפֹּל מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן עַל פְּנֵיהֶם לִפְנֵי כָּל קְהַל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
Moshe and Aaron fall on their faces “Lifnei” (same word,) the people. And it is Caleb and Joshua who respond to the people- believe in God we can do it.
Two chapters later in the story of Korach that we read last week, the people come and challenge Moshe’s leadership and we read Va’ipol al panav, (verse 4).
There is one place that this verse sends us. This is not the first time that there was no water. In chapter 17 of Shmot, the second time there was no water we read:
שמות פרק יז
ב) וַיָּרֶב הָעָם עִם מֹשֶׁה וַיֹּאמְרוּ תְּנוּ לָנוּ מַיִם וְנִשְׁתֶּה וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם מֹשֶׁה מַה תְּרִיבוּן עִמָּדִי מַה תְּנַסּוּן אֶת יְקֹוָק
It is the same storyline and same wording- vayirev ha’am et Moshe. Here the contrast is striking. In Shmot, Moshe responds forcefully to the people “why are you fighting with me and why are you testing God?” In Bamidbar, the same story and same words, Moshe can do nothing but fall on his face. Even worse, both Rav Saadiah Gaon and Eben Ezra, that the word Lifnei implies that they fell on their face because of the people- kedmut borchim, like they were running away.
What in the world happened to Moshe and Aaron?
In Shmot, Moshe is the hero, he takes them out of Egypt etc. At this point there is a new generation and a new reality. This younger generation may not remember the old times as well and they are faced with 38 more years in the desert as opposed to days to Israel. Sometimes the older generation of leaders, as great as they are, are not the ones who can communicate with a younger generation in new circumstances and a new reality. The Torah paints a portrait of Moshe and Aaron, who when faced with a challenge can no longer deal with or relate to the people- they retreat to their comfort zone, the Ohel Moed. They are more comfortable with God then with the people.
At the end of our parsha the people complain that they have no bread and are sick of the manna. Here they bypass Moshe completely and go straight after God who responds by send the snakes after them. Many die and the people go to Moshe and say: We have sinned against God and You – please go to God and stop the snakes and Moshe does.
From here you see a number of things. Moshe certainly still cares for the people. The people still recognize that Moshe cares and is of the spiritual stature to get God to stop the snakes. There is a real irony in the fact that Moshe can stand up to God for the people, but he can no longer speak to the people. He knows how to communicate with God and does so for the people but he can no longer communicate with the people.
Maybe that is why Moshe and Aaron are not going to enter Israel. It is not so much any specific sin as it is a reality. If you look carefully at the text it does not actually say that they will not enter the land, although obviously they won’t, rather it says, therefore you will not bring this kahal in the land. (verse 12). You will not lead the people into the land.
This crisis of leadership is an ongoing one for the Jewish people. We need rabbis and leaders and teachers, men and women, (teachers not rabbis) who are equally comfortable with God and with their people. They need to be well versed in the tradition and able to communicate that in a relevant way. They need to be able to speak the language of the people. A leader, no matter how well intentioned, cannot lead without being able to convey a message.
I don’t say this in response to a particular issue but because I have a growing sense that many in positions of spiritual leadership, who are legitimately good people, have better relationships with God than they do with people. They don’t fully understand the people or their needs and thus they cannot lead effectively.
We need to work towards producing those leaders because Judaism certainly has the ability to transform and inspire and the Jewish people needs leaders and it needs inspiration.
