Leadership Means Letting Go
In May 1782, as the American Revolution ebbed, Colonel Lewis Nicola sent General George Washington what has become known as the “Newburgh Letter.” The colonies had won their independence, but the future of the new nation was far from secure. Congress was weak, the economy unstable, and many feared that the fragile republic would not survive. Nicola proposed an extraordinary solution: Washington should become King of the United States.
Washington rejected the idea outright.
“If you have any regard for your Country, concern for your self or posterity—or respect for me, to banish these thoughts from your Mind”
A year later, after gaining victory, Washington resigned as commander-in-chief and returned authority to Congress. King George III reportedly said that if Washington truly relinquished power, “he will be the greatest man in the world.”
Washington understood what history frequently forgets: leadership is measured not solely by gaining power, but by sharing it wisely.
Moshe Rabbeinu teaches much the same lesson.
At the opening of Sefer Devarim, as the people stand prepared to enter Eretz Yisrael, Moshe recalls a pivotal moment from the wilderness.
“See, I have given the land before you; come and possess the land that Hashem has sworn to your fathers, to Avraham, to Yitzchak and to Yaakov, to give to them and to their seed after them.” And I told you at that time, saying, “I cannot bear you alone. Hashem, your God, has multiplied you and, behold, you are today as many as the stars of the heavens. May Hashem, your God, increase you a thousandfold from what you are and bless you as He spoke of you. How will I bear alone your encumbrance and your burden and your quarrels? Take for yourselves men who are wise and insightful and well known to your tribes, and let me set them as heads over you.” You replied to me, saying, “The thing which you have spoken to do is good.” (Devarim 1:8)
At first, Moshe seems to be recounting history, but his repetition is striking. He remembers God’s blessing that Israel multiplied, then speaks of the challenge of governing them.
The Netziv, Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin, offers a beautiful insight. Moshe is describing two distinct tasks. One is the practical undertaking of sustaining and administering a nation. The second is preserving justice and resolving disputes. Government requires both executive responsibility and judicial functions. Neither can rest in the hands of a single individual.
Moshe’s greatness was not that he didn’t do everything himself. It was that he recognized that no one should.
Long before entering the land, Moshe was preparing the nation for a society built on shared responsibility rather than personal authority. Healthy leadership demands delegation. Healthy societies require institutions.
This idea echoes throughout Jewish political thought. Maimonides understands monarchy as a divine command and the legitimate model of government, yet the king is never absolute. He is bound by Torah, corrected by prophets, and subject to limits. Don Yitzchak Abravanel, having witnessed firsthand the corruption of Iberian monarchies, questioned whether monarchy was desirable at all. Rabbeinu Nissim envisioned authority divided between the king and the Sanhedrin, while Rav Kook suggested that a democratically elected government could exercise the powers once assigned to the king.
The details differ, but they share a common concern: concentrated power is dangerous.
Perhaps that is why Moshe begins Devarim by reminding the people not of his own achievements but of the moment he chose to share responsibility with others. The greatest leaders understand that they are not indispensable.
Washington’s refusal of a crown became one of the defining moments in the history of democracy because he willingly surrendered authority. Moshe’s legacy endures for the same reason. Before leaving this world, he ensured that leadership would continue without him.
Nations become stronger when they build institutions that outlast individuals. Leaders become greater when they understand that their task is not simply to lead, but to prepare others to do so as well.
