You may have picked up from previous Shabbat Shalom messages, I stream a whole lot of TV. It’s one of the few things that let me truly decompress and allows my mind to focus on things other than the chaos of day-to-day life. This weekend I found myself watching the Amazon show, The Grand Tour. The Grand Tour is a remake of the British (and now American) Show, Top Gear. It features the hijinks of Top Gear’s former presenters, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May. The magic of the show isn’t the amazing cars they drive or the unbelievable places they visit but the relationship they have with each other. Like children, they jokingly chide each other and mock one another for whichever misfortune befalls them. When the odds seem too great to overcome, each of the presenters displays their superior leadership and problem-solving abilities. They make 80-year-old cars run using random parts and make it through some of the world’s most treacherous terrain. We see similar leadership from Moses in this week’s Torah portion.
In this week’s Torah portion, there are a slew of happenings. Pinchas, who the parshah is named for, kills Zimri and Cozbi for having sex in the Mishkan, the plague that inflicted the Israelites is lifted, a second census is taken, Moses receives directions on dividing Israel amongst the tribes, the daughters of Zelophehad claim their inheritance, and what I see as the most pivotal scene, Moses is told he won’t be leading the people into Israel and Joshua is appointed as the leader of the Israelites. In a scene reminiscent of a sad movie ending when the main character knows their end is upon them, God shows Moses the Land of Israel and told him that he wouldn’t be allowed to bring the Jewish people into the Land. Moses immediately said:
“May … God … appoint a man over the assembly, who shall go out before them … and let the assembly … not be like sheep that have no shepherd.” (Numbers 27:16-17)
When Moses was told by God that he wouldn’t be able to lead the Jewish people into the land of Israel, his knee-jerk response was not focused on his own fate, but rather to make sure that the Israelites would still have someone in his absence who would continue to lead them. This is why Moses was one of the greatest leaders ever.
The ability to focus on other people’s needs when the “going gets tough” and not on your own wants and desires is the true definition of leadership. Being a leader is not about the recognition or accolades you might receive, but rather it’s the constant focus on the specific needs that are most important to those who are following you. Therefore, if for one reason or another you’re no longer able to lead them, you will automatically put their fears and concerns as your primary focus.
The world is littered with countless numbers of cases where, once someone was asked to stop doing something, he/she ceased to care about the people whom their work was affecting. It makes you wonder if they really ever truly cared about them in the first place. The true colors of a leader are on full display when they leave their leadership position and to see if they ever give even a passing thought to all those who believed in them, their vision, and their dream.
The powerful message Moses taught us all is to fight the urge to initially take a demotion or firing personally. There will certainly be time to think about the impact of how this decision affects you. But right now your concern must be about those who trusted you.
Make no mistake; it certainly takes a lot of class to have your focus be on others when your ego, self-esteem, and your self-worth are seemingly all on the line. But it’s precisely this knee-jerk response that separates a good leader from a great one.