16.07.2011                      14.Tammus, 5771                      Pinchas

Judentum:

Parashat Pinhas: Leadership through speech

“Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, ‘Let the Lord God of all the spirits of mortal flesh appoint a person of stature over the witness congregation’” (Numbers 27:15).

Moses was the master of all prophets, and the individual who came closer to God than any other mortal in history. Now, after a chorus of rebellions against him, God tells him that he is about to be taken from this world without entering the Promised Land. His response to God demonstrates his deep and abiding commitment to his nation. He does not seek a reprieve for himself, but rather a fitting successor for his people. In so doing, he identifies the area in which he himself failed, and the qualities which his heir must have in order to succeed, thus defining the sine qua non condition of leadership for future generations, and so leaving a crucial legacy to “Knesset Yisrael.”…