Tolerate or Follow?
The ability of a leader to “follow the spirit of each individual” derives from the fact that he is endowed with the spirit of each individual. His ability to identify with each person is because he has a “piece” of each person in his own soul.
The “Spirit of all Flesh.”
This week’s parsha discusses Moses’ request of G-d to appoint a leader who will succeed him. The Torah describes his request thus:
“Let the L-rd, the G-d of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation… that the congregation of the L-rd be not as sheep which have no shepherd.”
G-d responded to Moses by saying:
“Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is spirit, and lay your hand upon him…”
Rashi comments on Moses request for a leader focusing on the way he addressed G-d as “the spirit of all flesh.” This Rashi explains was Moses’ way of describing the quality he sought in a leader. A true leader must be imbued with the spirit of G-d who is the “spirit of all flesh.” Our Sages tell us that “just as there are no two people who look alike, so too, there are no two people who think alike.” A good leader must be able to, in Rashi’s words, “tolerate the individual spirits (i.e. temperament and opinions), of each member of the Jewish nation.”
A Contrast
In G-d’s response to Moses, where G-d describes Joshua as “a man in who is spirit,” Rashi explains that this refers to one who can “follow the spirit of each individual.”
When we compare Moses’ description of the right leader and G-d’s description, there seems to a minor difference in the way this leader is presented. Moses wants a leader who can “tolerate” all of the disparate views of the people, whereas G-d describes Joshua as one who can “follow” the multitude of views. What is the difference between tolerating all these views and following them?
One basic difference is that tolerating the diverse views of the people implies simply that the true leader does not lose his composure despite the demand listening to all the views can have on him. Following the spirit of each individual, however, goes beyond that. It suggests that the true leader not only can tolerate these disparate views but he can actually relate to them as well.
This approach however demands further clarification. We can understand how a person can be tolerant of views that cover the full spectrum of ideas and can even be diametrically opposing views. But how does a leader actually relate to each of these views. It sounds like the rabbi who agrees with both parties to a dispute, and when questioned by his wife how that can be possible, he agrees with her as well… Reaching Three Personality Types The answer to this question understands the meaning of the leader “following the spirit of each individual” slightly differently. Based on the words of R. Schneur Zalman in the introduction to his classic Tanya this quality of following the spirit of each individual can be explained as a true leader’s ability to inspire each and every member of his constituency despite their differences.
The average teacher and leader can relate to a limited number of students and followers. His words will resonate with like-minded individuals, but not with those who possess a completely different way of thinking. The true leader, by contrast, can find a way into the hearts and minds of every individual.
The true leader can relate to the simple person as well as he can relate to the scholar; the poor as the rich, the aggressive as well as the docile, the cold and indifferent personality as the warm and receptive.
In general, there are three basic personalities: The chesedkind and open personality, the gevurah-judgmental and strict personality, the tiferes-well-balanced and charismatic personality. The ideal leader can find ways of entering the hearts of these diverse people and nurture their souls.
Not Necessarily a Prophet
On a deeper level it can be explained that the ability of a leader to “follow the spirit of each individual” derives from the fact that he is endowed with the spirit of each individual. This means that his ability to identify with each person is because he has a “piece” of each person in his own soul.
Kabbalah and Chassidic thought explain that all of the Jewish people can be likened to one organic body, where the leader is compared to the head and brain. Just as the brain contains the life-force and energy that animates the entire body, so too the ideal leader is endowed with the spiritual energy that characterizes each of his followers.
A leader of this caliber does not have to be a prophet in order to know the needs of his people. He senses their needs because he possesses a “piece” of each individual; their pain and sorrow is his pain. When he prays to G-d for them, he is not praying for a stranger. His life is bound up with theirs.
Why Not Just G-d?
The Jewish belief in the Messianic Age is that a person, of flesh and blood, born to parents in the natural way, will usher in the age of universal peace and goodness. This leader, referred to as the Moshiach, has been described in the Torah, Talmud and all classical Jewish sources as a leader who will follow in the footsteps of all great Jewish leaders going back to Joshua and Moses.
There are many modern people who raise the question as to why we need a Moshiach. Why can’t we just have G-d usher in the Messianic Age? Why the need for a human leader?
The partial answer to this question is that this leader, because he is connected to each of us, has the ability to bring out the best in all of us. In truth, it is we who make the world change. Moshiach is the catalyst that enables us to realize our own Messianic potential. There is a spark of all of us in Moshiach and there is, as the Ba’al Shem Tov stated, a spark of Moshiach in all of us.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Pinchas by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
