Testing a Leader's Mettle

The fast of Tisha B'Av is coming up this Sunday. The reading of Parshat Devarim always precedes Tisha B'Av, and the lessons are appropriate points of reflection during this time.

The role of a public servant??

The Parsha?opens with the appointment of judges throughout?the twelve tribes. "So I took your tribal leaders, wise and experienced men, and appointed them heads over you: chiefs of thousands, chiefs of hundreds, chiefs of fifties, and chiefs of tens, and officials for your tribes.??

I charged your magistrates at that time as follows, “Hear out your fellow men, and decide justly between any man and a fellow Jew or a stranger.??

You shall not be partial in judgment: hear out the simple people and high ones alike. Fear no man, for judgment is God’s. And any matter that is too difficult for you, you shall bring to me and I will hear it.”??

Rashi says that Moshe Rabbeinu's first?instruction to the judges was this:?"The present is different from the past. In the past, you were in your own private world. Now, you are beholden to the community".

Moshe Rabbeinu’s lesson to the Shoftim is a lesson for every Jew. One does not have to become a Dayan-a judge, to realize that there are occasions when even the simplest Jew will find himself regarded as a representative of the Torah and Klal Yisroel. With middos tovos/good character and a healthy dose of consideration, every Jew has the capacity to demonstrate to others a desire to attain a high level of shleimut, ‘perfection’. As a person matures, the circle of his influence gradually increases. The people he can touch today might not have been within reach yesterday. This is Moshe Rabbeinu’s message: “The present is different from the past.” Today is not the same as yesterday. Our actions need to grow along with us.

Embracing our mission and our land

Next, the Torah recounts God's Will to give us our land of Israel.?"See, the LORD your God has placed the land at your disposal. Go up, take possession, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you. Fear not and be not dismayed.”??

And charge the people as follows: You will be passing through the territory of your kinsmen, the descendants of Esav, who live in Seir. Though they will be afraid of you, be very careful not to provoke them. For I will not give you of their land so much as a foot can tread on; I have given the hill country of Seir as a possession to Esav. What food you eat you shall obtain from them for money; even the water you drink you shall procure from them for money.

Indeed, the LORD your God has blessed you in all your undertakings. He has watched over your wanderings through this great wilderness; the LORD your God has been with you these past forty years: you have lacked nothing.

Testing a Leader's Mettle

And then, the Torah recounts the episode of the twelve "meraglim"-spies whom Moshe sent to study the land of Israel in advance of our arrival there. As we know,?their execution?of?their mission?brought about great suffering for us. Where did they make their mistake? The Ramban says that their job was to?develop a strategy-to plan the invasion along the most effective route.?

The error of the Meraglim, according to the Ramban, was that they took advantage of the authority given them, in order to advance their opinion as to whether or not they should accept the Land – an authority which they were never given. The utterance of their opinion began with the word "however"!?Just listen to?what they told Moshe upon their return: “We came to the land you sent us to; it does indeed flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.?However, the people who inhabit the country are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large....??and they made their opinion known publicly, and caused the Jews to cry. And we still weep. They?spoke in a place and forum where they were never appointed. They intended to influence the community,?and that they did. They were disloyal to their mission. They were disloyal to their leader. And they were disloyal to their parents, wives and children too. They put themselves?ahead of their responsibilities.

The temptation for the disillusioned?to carry their grievances and troubles to the public is great. And that temptation breaks the greatest of men.?

One of the great lessons of this period of destruction is just that. The power of Jewish loyalty. Loyalty to one's family, to one's community, to one's mission, to the tradition, and most of all to the One Who breathes life into us every moment.?

While it may be that granting refuge in our hearts to the public betrayer can?provide momentary comfort. The long-term tradeoff is a surrender of the loyalty that defines us as a people.

The Torah never covered up the sins of good people who made epic mistakes.?Our people were never represented by those who failed their greatest tests.?We have multitudes?of Jews who have succeeded. They are the ones who guide us.

The days leading up to Tisha B'Av are a time to contemplate these lessons and search for ways to embrace and nurture our patriotic allegiance to our land, our people, and our heritage.

Good Shabbos!