COLLABORATION OR COMMAND

“Moshe summoned Yehoshua and said to him before the eyes of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall come with this people to the Land that Hashem swore to their forefathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. Hashem – it is He who goes before you; He will be with you; He will not release you nor will He forsake you; do not be afraid and do not be dismayed.” (Devarim 31:7-8)

One of Moshe’s foremost concerns when learning of his imminent demise was the matter of a successor.   Already in parshat Pinchas (Bamidbar 27:15-16), Moshe demanded of God, “May Hashem, God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the assembly, who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall take them out and bring them in; and let the assembly of Hashem not be like sheep that have no shepherd.” The choice of a successor was so important to Moshe that he put all of his personal affairs aside and focused on this matter exclusively (see Rashi, Bamidbar 27:15, citing the Sifrei). Moreover, this was one of only several requests he made of God in which he demanded an answer (ibid). His request for a successor came after the daughters of Tzelophechad approached him to ask for their inheritance in the Land of Canaan. After God responded that they were entitled to inherit land in Canaan, Moshe reckoned that the time had now come for him to ensure that his own children would inherit his position. In general, positions of leadership in Judaism are hereditary provided the child is worthy. Moshe had witnessed the passing of his brother Aharon and the transfer of his position, that of Cohen Gadol, to Aharon’s son Elazar. Moshe believed that one of his two sons, Gershom or Eliezer, would take his place. But it was not to be. God told him to appoint his closest disciple Yehoshua as his successor. Yehoshua had attached himself to Moshe and never left his side. He learned Torah from him, fought battles for him and observed his every move. The Midrash (Tanchuma, Pinchas #10) explains that Yehoshua deserved to be Moshe’s successor in fulfillment of the verse (Mishlei 27:18), “He who guards the fig orchard, shall eat of its fruit.” Moshe ordained Yehoshua by laying his hands upon him in the presence of Elazar, the Cohen Gadol, and the entire assembly.

At that point, Yehoshua became the leader-in-waiting. He was the leader in name but not in deed. Moshe was still very much in charge. However, in our parsha, which takes place several months after Yehoshua’s appointment, Moshe is about to die and the time is now right to hand over the reins of leadership. Moshe summons Yehoshua. He encourages him, telling him to be “strong and of good course.” He assures him that God will not forsake him and that He will grant him victory in his campaigns in Canaan. Moshe instructs his student, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall come with this people to the Land that Hashem swore to their forefathers to give them.” In his instruction, Moshe emphasises that Yehoshua must come “with” the people. He must seek the advice of the elders and ask their opinion. He must not make unilateral decisions.

However, when Hashem Himself commands Yehoshua several verses later, He makes a subtle change to the instruction (Devarim 31:23), “He commanded Yehoshua son of Nun, and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the Children of Israel to the Land that I have sworn to them, and I shall be with you.” God does not say “you shall come with them”, but rather “you shall bring them.” The Talmud (Sanhedrin 8a) picks up on this discrepancy: “It is written: “For you shall go with these people into the land” (Devarim 31:7), and it is written: “For you shall bring the children of Israel into the land” (Devarim 31:23). Rabbi Yochanan reconciled the difference between these two charges and said: Moshe said to Yehoshua, in the first verse: You and the elders of the generation will enter Eretz Yisrael together with the people, i.e., the elders will assist you in the leadership. Subsequently, in the second verse, the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Yehoshua: You yourself must bring the people: Take a rod and strike the people upon their skulls! There must be one clear and authoritative leader for the generation, and there may not be two or more leaders for the generation.”

The Maharsha (Chiddushei Aggadot) explains the outlooks of Moshe and Hashem on this matter. On several occasions, Moshe complained to God that the task of leading the Children of Israel was too onerous for one person. The people were rebellious, argumentative and difficult to please. He needed support. God granted his request and told him to appoint seventy men who would act as the first High Court (see Bamidbar chapter 11). Moshe thought that the same thing would happen to Yehoshua. But this was not the case.  Yehoshua was leader to a new generation. These were not the people who had left Egypt. This was a people saturated with the teachings of Torah they had imbibed over the last forty years. They could tolerate a more dictatorial form of leadership. Yehoshua had only to “take a rod and strike the people upon their skulls” and they would follow his every command. This was indeed the case, as is evident from the book of Joshua. 

Thus, according to the Maharsha, this is not a fundamental dispute about the nature of leadership where Moshe’s opinion is to have a leader who consults and Hashem’s opinion is to have a leader who dictates.  Rather, it depends very much on the people who are being led. Certain groups crave strong leadership.  They are willing to be followers provided their leaders are forceful and decisive. This is very much the case in the Chasidic world. A Chasid is, by definition, the follower of a Rebbe or Tsaddik. They are proud to be a disciple of a great person and will follow his every word. But there are also communities who crave a more consultative form of leadership. It is not that they want weak leaders who they can push around and control.  Rather, they want to be part of the decision-making process to the extent possible. I believe the Litvish non-Chasidic (Misnagdim) community is very much like this. In the main, their leaders are Roshei Yeshiva, the heads of yeshivot. In a yeshiva, the Rosh Yeshiva learns with his students. They argue with him and try to refute his understanding of the Talmud. They don’t simply accept his opinion or rulings because he is the leader.   

A leader has to know what type of a community he has to determine his leadership style. Does he have a “Moshe” type of community where his decisions will be questioned or does he have a “Yehoshua” type of community where his charges will hang on his every word? There is no one-size-fits-all solution to leadership.

Lee, Chani Merryl & Naomi join me in wishing you Shabbat Shalom & Gemar Chatima Tova!  

Rabbi Liebenberg.

Rabbi’s YouTube message: https://youtu.be/umQmXTFnrbE?si=l2wNIm3oEF9FFn72

For Yom Kippur: https://youtu.be/lZc9HttnEW8?si=OaELkyt_CYtd4uuD