by Yehuda HaKohen. Sculpture by Phillip Ratner. Throughout history, leadership has played an essential role in the life of the Hebrew Nation. While Israel has at many times been blessed with great shepherds who have brought our people to fantastic heights, poor leadership has too often resulted in disaster. VAYAKHEL offers a glimpse of improper Jewish leadership from which we can discern the attributes a true leader of Israel should possess.
“The leaders brought the shoham stones and the stones for the settings for the Ephod and the Breastplate; the spice and the oil, for illumination and for the anointment oil and the incense spices.” (SHEMOT 35:27-28)
Rashi cites Rabbi Natan on this verse, noting that the word leaders (Nesi’im) is spelled without the two yuds the word would normally include. He explains the defective spelling of their title as an implied rebuke for having not brought their gifts until everything else had been contributed. Assuming that the general contributions would not be enough, the tribal princes waited to see what would be lacking so that they themselves could step forward and provide it. Because the national response was so generous, however, there was almost nothing left for the leadership to contribute.
The Talmud states that “G-D cries over three things each day… one of these is a leader who behaves arrogantly towards the public” (Chagigah 5b). Rabeinu Bahyah teaches: “For it is the way of leaders to look down upon the rest of the people… and thus leaders brought the stones that rested on Aharon’s heart, in order to atone for the arrogance of their hearts. These leaders had been lowly slaves in Egypt and were now princes of Israel. Upon receiving their high appointment, they immediately began to look down upon their brothers.”
Because Israel’s tribal chiefs were idle in their participation, the Torah spells their title defectively. Had they felt as much fervor for the Mishkan as the masses, they would have immediately joined in the national spirit of generosity. But influential people often see themselves as superior to their public and are unwilling to sacrifice the dignity of their position. This condescending attitude is precisely what leads people in positions of responsibility to harm the national welfare in favor of advancing personal agendas.
The Maharal of Prague teaches in Netivot Olam that a leader who behaves arrogantly towards his public is a leader who rules coercively with an iron fist. He becomes a tyrannical dictator, persecuting any who stand in the way of his ambitions. Throughout history, this type of leadership has resulted in calamity for the Jewish people. The burden of leadership is a great responsibility that must be taken seriously in order to avoid national trauma. Condescension and arrogance can cause a person to neglect what is best for his people in favor of personal success or political gains. It can even drive one to sacrifice innocent lives in order to gain for himself fleeting approval from foreign rulers.
The Torah offers statutes to prevent such irresponsibility, such as the commandments pertaining specifically to an Israeli king.
“It shall be that when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself two copies of this Torah in a book, from before the Kohanim, the Levi’im. It shall be with him, and he shall read from it all the days of his life, so that he will learn to fear HaShem, his G-D, to observe all the words of this Torah and these decrees, to perform them, so that his heart not become haughty over his brethren and not turn from the commandment right or left, so that he will prolong years over his kingdom, he and his sons amid Israel.” (DEVARIM 17:18-20)
The king of Israel is commanded to write and read his own Torah in order to prevent his position from making him arrogant toward his brothers. By delving into the deeper secrets of Torah, a king can gain an understanding that we are all in fact aspects of HaShem in this world and that no man can truly reign supreme over others. Even studying the Torah on a surface level enables a king to understand the past failures of his people in order that he personally strive to correct them in order to lead Israel in fulfilling our lofty national mission. Through the proper learning of Torah, a king gains the power to activate Israel’s full national potential and unite the Hebrew Nation as one collective entity. This national unity is the essence of what a king must fully absorb into himself in order that he place Israel’s honor and wellbeing before his own.
A true leader is measured based on how much he is willing to give and sacrifice of himself for the benefit of his people. He must understand the historic mission of the Hebrew Nation and how to steer the Jewish people towards this lofty goal. Only with such a wise and capable leader can Israel bring about history’s ultimate purpose – that HaShem’s Presence be seen, felt and perceived in everything that exists so that all may understand themselves as participants in the marvelous story of human development. It is the deterministic blueprint of all human history that mankind will unite in following Israel’s leadership. The Hebrew Kingdom in the Land of Israel is currently rising to full rebirth and – with proper guidance – will fulfill its role as the heart of humanity by pumping blessing, goodness and truth to all existence.
With Love of Israel,
-Yehuda HaKohen
Am Segula
