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Parshat B'ha'alotcha
2007
A Leader Who Follows
Here’s the truth: As a member of the millennial generation, I often try to wear too many hats at once. In high school and college anything less than an “A” was not an option for me, and along with juggling my many and varied activities I often stretched myself too thin and close to the breaking point. However, the hardest lesson to learn was that the more I reached out to others, the better leader and person I became.
These same key qualities of a leader can be learned from the actions and leadership of Moses. In Parashat Be’ha’alotcha, Moses becomes increasingly challenged to meet the needs of his constituents. The Jewish people began to question God because their only food supply was manna and they were frustrated with not having meat. Moses feels weight of his responsibility when he says to God: “Whence should I have flesh to give onto all this people for they trouble me their weeping saying: Give us flesh, that we may eat. I am not able to bear all this people myself alone, because it is too heavy for me.” (Num. 11:13-14) Moses has seemingly reached his brink and God said to him “Gather unto Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom though knowest to be elders of the people, and officers over them; bring them unto the tent of meeting, that they may stand with thee.” (Num. 11: 16) With the help of the elders, Moses will feel confident and strengthened in his ability to be an effective and strong leader. Here God has offered Moses the opportunity to delegate his decision-making and add a layer of support to take away from the huge burden of responsibility that he was feeling. As leaders, we are often in situations where we must learn to not only be strong in our abilities and powerful among the people, but humble enough to recognize that we cannot do everything ourselves and that we are no better than the people we lead.
One night a student called me at her breaking point. As the leader of her group, she expressed to me that her work was underappreciated and the lack of respect she received from her peers bothered her. She was burnt out and frustrated. As we started talking, I realized one of the main problems was that she naturally tried to control everything as opposed to putting faith in work that she delegates to others. She said, “Well, if I don’t take care of it, I don’t know if it will get done.” I had her think about that statement and how she was taking on too much! She was not just the president anymore; she was trying to do the work of other positions on top of her own! Not only was she exhausted, she felt that no one expressed any appreciation of the work that she was doing. We realized that no matter how strong a leader she is on her own, the work will never feel successful if she is the only one doing it and she cannot trust her peers to step up to their responsibility and aid her in her overarching goals. Contemporary Rabbi Yissocher Frand says: “There are no dual offices in the leadership role of a Jewish leader. If Moshe was the rabban shel Yisrael, the teacher of all the Jewish people, then he could not at the same time be the specific leader of a particular group within the Jewish people. He wore one hat. He was the leader of all the people” (Rabbi Yissocher Frand on the Parshah, 210). This student was forced to battle against the responsibility of her leadership role and also in her ability to acknowledge that that she was not required to do the work of others. She had to learn and trust in empowering her peers.
Here is where the dichotomy lies. Moses has to be a strong and powerful leader of the Jewish people, but also must possess the humility to connect with his constituents and to realize his own limitations. This is the lesson that I take from my student and also from Moses. As much as I feel like the best work will only result from my own efforts, it is important to reach out and find a system that incorporates the greater community and the energy and enthusiasm not just from one person, but from many. If you are the only one who does anything for a particular program, event, or proposal, the success will be half as great as if held the strength, wisdom and excitement of a team. From collaboration, everyone will have their own part of the puzzle, but will inevitably feel the greater success of working together and capitalizing on each other’s strengths. We must be humble enough as leaders that we continue to learn from others even in what might be the highest position of power. I must be a sufficiently strong leader to know that it is necessary to ask for help and support in order to fully achieve my goals and success as leader and professional.
Written by Deborah Jacoby, Steinhardt JCSC Fellow, Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh
Learn More
To read additional commentaries and essays about Parshat B'ha'alotcha go to www.myjewishlearning.com
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