This week we arrive at one of the seminal moments in Torah. Sinai. The Israelites gather at the mountain, and we witness, through the text, the Revelation at Sinai. The Decalogue. The Ten Words. The Revelation carries with it so much meaning and, no matter if you believe it literally or as a metaphor, the Midrash reminds us that in a very real way, each of us were there. Again, we are a people of history, linked from generation to generation.
However, a small diversion if you please. For, before the drama we encounter a little bit of practical management. Moses and his father in-law Jethro (for whom the portion is named) have a conversation about leadership. Moses realizes that this calling to lead this people, and remember they have already begun to complain, may be a little more than he can handle alone. Jethro advises him to delegate. The elders again are brought into the equation, but the lesson here is that real leadership may be the kind that brings in the people, empowers them and secures their involvement around a single vision. I mention this section because so many of our generation (and others) marvel now at the lack of visionary leadership. Indeed, we may be suffering from a leadership deficit.
So much of our world seems to be lacking in this sense of enlightened leadership where personal agendas are put aside in favor of the good of society. In his “The Failure of Nerve: Leadership In The Age Of The Quick Fix”, Edwin Friedman cites that so many groups, committees and organizations are inhabited by what he called “seatbelt society”. That is leadership that is “more oriented to safety than adventure”. Friedman argues that leaders need to focus on their own integrity. One can make the argument that Moses understood this as he knew that he needed to seek advice, got that advice, and then followed up. It was not about Moses, but how he could empower people to be part of the larger vision.
I mention this because we lack this sense of integrity and vision in so much of our world today. We do seem to reach for the “quick fix”, the instant answer rather than seeing that progress to a desired goal will take time. The Revelation provides the sense of vision for this emerging people. As you know, the actualization of that vision is still to be achieved. That continues to be our challenge in each generation, and, as such, we yearn for leadership that can guide us, support us and care for us with a sense of purpose and dignity.
Shabbat shalom
Rabbi Richard F Address
Rabbi Richard F. Address, D.Min, is the Founder and Director of www.jewishsacredaging.com. Rabbi Address served for over three decades on staff of the Union for Reform Judaism; first as a Regional Director and then, beginning in 1997, as Founder and Director of the URJ’s Department of Jewish Family Concerns and served as a specialist and consultant for the North American Reform Movement in the areas of family related programming. Rabbi Address was ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1972 and began his rabbinic career in Los Angeles congregations. He also served as a part time rabbi for Beth Hillel in Carmel, NJ while regional director and, after his URJ tenure, served as senior rabbi of Congregation M’kor Shalom in Cherry Hill, NJ from 2011-2014.
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