JANUARY 4 • 2024 | 37
J
N
I
used to say, only half in jest, that the
proof that Moses was greatest of the
Prophets was that when God asked him
to lead the Jewish people, he refused four
times: Who am I to lead?
They will not believe in me.
I am not a man of words.
Please send someone else.
It is as if Moses knew with
uncanny precision what he
would be letting himself in
for. Somehow, he sensed in
advance that it may be hard
to be a Jew, but to be a leader of Jews is
almost impossible.
How did Moses know this? The answer
lies many years back in his youth. It was
then when, having grown up, he went
out to see his people for the first time.
He saw them enslaved, being forced into
heavy labor.
He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew,
one of his people. He intervened and saved
his life. The next day he saw two Hebrews
fighting, and again he intervened. This time
the man he stopped said to him, “Who
appointed you as our leader and judge?”
Note that Moses had not yet even thought
of being a leader and already his leadership
was being challenged. And these are the
first recorded words spoken to Moses by a
fellow Jew. That was his reward for saving
the life of an Israelite the day before.
And though God persuaded Moses,
or ordered him, to lead, it never ceased
to be difficult and often demoralizing. In
Devarim, he recalls the time when he said:
“How can I myself bear Your problems,
Your burdens and Your disputes all by
myself” (Deut. 1:12).
And in Beha’alotecha, he suffers what can
only be called a breakdown: “He asked the
Lord, ‘Why have You brought this trouble
on Your servant? What have I done to dis-
please You that You put the burden of all
these people on me? Did I conceive all these
people? Did I give them birth? Why do You
tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse
carries an infant, to the land You promised
on oath to their ancestors? … I cannot carry
all these people by myself; the burden is too
heavy for me. If this is how You are going to
treat me, please go ahead and kill me — if I
have found favor in Your eyes — and do not
let me face my own ruin.
’” Num. 11:11-15
And this was said, don’t forget, by the
greatest Jewish leader of all time. Why are
Jews almost impossible to lead?
The answer was given by the greatest
rebel against Moses’ leadership, Korach.
Listen carefully to what he and his
associates say: “They came as a group
to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to
them, ‘You have gone too far! The whole
community is holy, every one of them,
and the Lord is with them. Why then
do you set yourselves above the Lord
assembly?’” Num. 16:3
Korach’s motives were wrong. He spoke
like a democrat but what he wanted was to
be an autocrat. He wanted to be a leader
himself. But there is a hint in his words of
what is at stake.
Jews are a nation of strong individuals.
“The whole community is holy, every one
of them.
” They always were. They still are.
That is their strength and their weakness.
There were times when they found it diffi-
cult to serve God. But they certainly would
not serve anyone less. They were the “stiff-
necked” people, and people with stiff necks
find it hard to bow down.
The Prophets would not bow down to
Kings. Mordechai would not bow down
to Haman. The Maccabees would not
bow down to the Greeks. Their successors
would not bow down to the Romans. Jews
are fiercely individualistic. At times this
makes them unconquerable. It also makes
them almost ungovernable, almost impos-
sible to lead.
That is what Moses discovered in his
youth when, trying to help his people,
their first response was to say, “Who
appointed you as our leader and judge?”
That is why he was so hesitant to take on
the challenge of leadership, and why he
refused four times.
There has been much debate in British
and American Jewry recently about wheth-
er there should be an agreed collective
stance of unconditional support for the
state and government of Israel, or whether
our public position should reflect the deep
differences that exist among Jews today,
within Israel or outside.
My view is that Israel needs our support
at this critical time. But the debate that has
taken place is superfluous. Jews are a nation
of strong individuals who, with rare historic
exceptions, never agreed about anything.
That makes them unleadable; it also makes
them unconquerable. The good news and
the bad go hand in hand. And if, as we
believe, God loved and still loves this people
despite all its faults, may we do less?
It should be noted for context that this essay was
written by Rabbi Sacks in November 2010, amidst a
widespread communal debate regarding Israel.
Rabbi Lord
Jonathan
Sacks
The Challenge of
Jewish Leadership
SPIRIT
A WORD OF TORAH
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