24
Friday, June 7, 1985
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
ISABELLE UNROT
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THE
JEWISH NEWS?
TORAH PORTION
Leaders Then And Now
BY RABBI IRWIN GRONER
Special to The Jewish New
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Moses: His positive leadership qualities were stressed throughout
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This week's Sidrah focuses on
the nature of leadership. Moses
is beset by the murmuring and
the rebellion of the people in the
wilderness. They are dissatis-
fied, for they remember not the
torment of the slave camps but
rather the fleshpots and crea-
.ture comforts of Egypt.
Discouraged and disheartened,
Moses is instructed by God to
select leaders — men who will
share the burden of responsibil-
ity for the welfare of the people.
Designated as Zekainim, (El-
ders), they were people of rever-
ence and knowledge and upon
them did rest "the spirit of the
Lord." In this brief passage is
intimated the essential qualities
of leadership.
Seventy were chosen. Why
were they chosen? What qualifi-
cation did they possess? The
Jewish tradition offers an in-
structive legend about their
background. When the Hebrew
people lived in Egypt, Egyptian
task-masters were placed over
the Israelite labor camps and
Hebrew officers were appointed.
The task-masters demanded the
daily quota of bricks. When the
quota was not met, the Egyp-
tians started punishing the
slaves. The Hebrew officers then
came forward and said: "We are
to blame; it is we who deserve
the punishment and not the
people because we did not
encourage the slaves to work
hard enough." The Hebrew offi-
cers then accepted the lash of
the task-master's whip, and bore
the pain of the people.
Years later, when Moses was
to choose those who were to
share with him in the eminence
of leadership, he turned to that
group who had demonstrated
their compassion for the needs
of others, their concern for the
travail of those they repre-
sented.
This, therefore, marks the test
of a good leader. Does he have
love for those on whose behalf
he speaks? Is he able to articu-
late the needs and yearnings of
those whom he represents?
The Bible said about those 70
that "the spirit of the Lord came
upon them" and that they
prophesied.
How desperately we need such
leaders today. We need the kind
of leadership that has a vision of
love and unity, that brings pro-
gress by reconciling different
groups in our society, and not by
seeking to exploit hate and fear
and thereby achieving power.
Behaalotechah:
Numbers 8:1-12:16.
Zechariah 2:14-4:7
We need this kind of leader-
ship in the family, in the
classroom, and in the executive
office because the nature of our
society is changing. A genera-
tion or two ago, families were
ruled by parents as absolute de-
spots; the educator had complete
authority over his students; and
the owner had unquestioned
power over his employees. But
all this has changed, because
children seek to have a share in
the decisions that families
make, students want to partici-
pate in the process of education,
and employees seek to add their
views to management in the
conduct of business. No longer
do leaders have the capacity to
coerce others.
We need to lead by persuasion
and by personal example. We
need to lead by creating a
shared consensus and a common
understanding developed by ef-
fective communication. We need
to project that vision, sincerity,
and commitment which will win
the support of those whom we
seek to influence. Our concern
should inspire trust; our wisdom
should inspire confidence; our
faithfulness should inspire loy-
alty.