The Traits of a Leader
What type of person is fit to be a leader? What type of leadership do we need?
In this week’s Parasha, Moshe says to God (Numbers 27:16), “Let God, Source of the breath of all flesh, appoint someone over the community.”
Rashi, quoting the Midrash, explains the meaning of “Source of the breath of all flesh” to mean that God should appoint a leader who understands and has patience for each individual, each with their unique personality. Based on these criteria, God picked Yehoshua to lead the Jewish people into Israel.
This event happened right after Pinchas saved the Jewish people in the midst of a terrible plague. Why wouldn’t that show Pinchas worthy of leading the Jewish people into Israel?
The answer lies in the way Pinchas is described in the Torah, namely, as a zealot:
“Pinchas, son of Elazar son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the Israelites by displaying among them his zealousness for Me, so that I did not wipe out the Israelite people in My zealousness.”
“It shall be for him and his descendants after him a pact of priesthood for all time, because he took zealous action for his God, thus making expiation for the Israelites.’”
Why does the character trait of zealousness preclude one from being a leader?
The ill effects of zealousness can be seen from the prophet Eliyahu, who is also described as zealous, and to whom Pinchas is compared (Pirkei D’Rebbi Eliezer Chapter 28).
In Kings II 19:10, it says: He (Eliyahu) replied, “I am moved by zeal for the ETERNAL the God of Hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and put Your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they are out to take my life.”
God showed Eliyahu that although zealousness may be appropriate at times, it is better to deal with people in a quiet and gentle way. As Hashem right after this says to Eliyahu:
Kings II 19:11-12: “Come out,” He called, “and stand on the mountain before GOD.” And lo, GOD passed by. There was a great and mighty wind, splitting mountains and shattering rocks by GOD’s power; but GOD was not in the wind. After the wind—an earthquake; but GOD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake—fire; but GOD was not in the fire. And after the fire—a soft murmuring sound.
God was explaining to Eliyahu, that while zealousness may have its place, it is not the way to lead a people. Eliyahu caused severe famine in the Israel, due to his zealousness in his interactions with King Achav. God showed Eliyahu, that after all the grandeur of the winds, earthquakes and fire, God finally spoke to him in a soft and barely audible manner.
The message was to Eliyahu was that our interactions with people need to be in the same manner that Yehoshua interacted with the Jewish people: quietly, patient, and unassuming, and caring about the individual needs of everyone. That is the reason why Yehoshua was fit to succeed Moshe Rabbeinu and not the zealous though righteous Pinchas.
Pinchas merited to have his status elevated to that of a priest, whose primary position is to have an elevated relationship with God in the Beit Hamikdash.
Similarly, Rav Kook in Orot Hakodesh (אורות הקדוש חלק ג’ עמוד שסד, הקנאה והאהבה האלוקית) explains that it was Pinchas’ strong love of Hashem that led him to his zealousness, which made him someone who was appropriate to be tasked with for service of Hashem via the priesthood.
However, for one to be a successful leader, it is important to gravitate towards the character traits of Yehoshua.
Practically, this means that those who are in leadership roles need to know themselves well before offering advice to others. Do they have the tools to understand the underlying needs of those who they are trying to help, whether on the individual or communal level? Sometimes those whose intentions to be helpful can unintentionally cause more harm. And while some may be better equipped to help with straight forward psak halacha, others may be more well-suited to deal with complex issues, whether related to halacha, sociology, or a combination thereof.
This also means, that in order to foster a healthy society, we need to work on becoming more patient and understanding on a communal level, while being less zealous, self righteous, and critical of others. With those ideals, our society will become more caring and healthy, and less angry and divided.
In our collective society, may we strive to embrace the ideals that Yehoshua has shown us.