Ancient civilizations admired the physical power of their leaders (Hercules); their military wit (Alexander the Great), or their cunning (Hermes). Humility never deserved to be exalted as a virtue, especially by pagans. On the contrary, humility was associated with weakness.
The Tora, however, never emphasizes the military force or physical power of a leader: victory on the battlefield, ultimately, is granted by God.
This is the reason why I think Moshe, our greatest leader, would have been considered as a very “powerful” leader and warrior by other nations, because among other things
* Moshe confronted and defeated Pharaoh, the most powerful man in the world at that time.
* Moshe brought three million people from slavery to freedom.
* Moshe triumphed in the glorious battles against Sihon and ‘Og.
What the Torah emphasizes about Moshe however, is his character and personality. Particularly, his humility.
What is the humility of a Jewish leader? And why is it so important?
A leader can have two types of agendas: his or her public aspirations and his personal aspirations. Public aspirations consist of what the leader wants to do for the good of his community, his people or his nation. Personal aspirations consist of what the leader wants to do for his personal benefit: his wealth, his narcissism, his self-image, etc. Sometimes these two dimensions might coexist harmoniously and in balance, and sometimes they become inversely proportional: if the main objective of the political leader is his personal benefit, the leader will be willing to sacrifice the benefit of his community to achieve his personal goals.
There are many examples of this type of leadership. But there are no many examples of inverse situations. Namely, when a leader is willing to sacrifice his own honor, his material goods and even his dignity, when is not about the benefit of his people.
Let’s look at some cases of Moshe Rabbenu’s leadership to uncover what kind of leader he was.
THE GOLDEN CALF
Moshe reacts with indignation and anger when he descends from Mount Sinai and sees the people worshiping the golden calf. They had replaced HaShem with an Egyptian idol and they were worshiping him. The indignation of Moshe was so intense that he broke the Tablets.
PEOPLE COMPLAIN
In this week’s Parasha, when the people complained with chutzpah that they “only” had the manna to eat in the desert, and they started to voice aloud what they were eating in Egypt, Moshe was also aggravated (ובעיני משה רע ), although those complaints were not directed towards the person of Moshe.
MORE COMPLAINTS
In the desert, people complained again saying “Why did HaShem take us out of Egypt and bring us into this wilderness to make us die of thirst and hunger?”
The people complained to HaShem, but Moshe reacted with anger, calling the people of Israel “rebels” (שמעו נא המורים).
These three cases, in which Moshe reacts with anger, have something in common: the complaints are not directed towards Moshe: the people, unfortunately, were behaving with ungratefulness and insolence towards HaShem
Now that we know that Moshe is able to react with anger at certain offenses, we will briefly see other types of situations, that should have normally triggered a similar or more severe reaction on Moshe’s part.
PERSONAL COMPETITION
In this week’s Parasha, two individuals, Eldad and Medad, were “prophesying” in the camp of Israel. “Prophesying” was an exclusive prerogative of Moshe, until then. This “irreverent” event was noticed by Yehoshua, who immediately informs Moshe and proposes to neutralize these two men, Moshe’s competitors. What was Moshe’s response? (Bamidbar 11:29): “And Moses answered (to Yehoshua): Are you jealous for me? I wish all the people of HaShem would prophesy, and [hopefully] HaShem will grant their prophecy [also] to them!
PERSONAL OFFENSES
In another episode, also in our Parasha (Bamidbar 12: 1-2). “Miriam and Aaron speak falsely against Moshe …”. On this occasion, again, Moshe does not get angry, or react. There is no jealousy, no reproach, no counterattacks. Moshe lets it go and remains silent.
Why?
Because Moshe is “offended”, feels aggravated and reacts with passion when it comes to the honor of HaShem. Moshe passionately cares about the cause and honor of HaShem. HIS MAIN AGENDA IS THAT THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL WOULD BEHAVE PROPERLY AS THE PEOPLE OF GOD. And this public aspiration, became his “exclusive” aspiration.
That is why, when it comes to personal matters, offenses which would affect his personal, Moshe does not bother. Nor is he offended. Acts with zero arrogance. THERE ARE NO PERSONAL AGENDAS FOR MOSHE. For him, it is enough to know in his heart his own integrity. And he does not care about competition or jealousy. On the contrary: he wants to stimulate it.
These gestures are a clear indication of what humility means in Judaism: moving our personal interests to the periphery and establishing the Divine cause at the center of our lives. Moshe, as an individual and as a leader, represents the epitome of humility.
And that’s why the Tora says about Moshe:
“And Moshe was a very humble man, more [humble] than any other man on the face of the earth”
שבת שלום
