Date: July 22nd 2022

The Torah records a conversation that occurred between Hashem and Moshe following the episode of the daughters of Tzelofchod. In this conversation Hashem told Moshe that he would die and that he would not go into Eretz Yisroel with the Jewish people. After hearing this, Moshe immediately began to pray that the leader who would be appointed in his stead should have the qualities to fulfill the needs of the Jewish people.

Moshe began his prayer by referring to Hashem as ‘the G-D of spirits’. Why did Moshe use this unusual description to address Hashem in this prayer? The Medrash Tanchuma (ch. 11, 12) gives two interpretations for this reference. The first one, which is brought down by Rashi, explains that Moshe was asking that the leader who is appointed should have the tolerance to deal kindly with all of the disparate personalities and perspectives of each individual member of the nation. The second explanation, as explained by Yalkut Yehuda, is that Moshe prayed for a successor who had the wisdom to understand all of the different types of personalities and perspectives that people have. According to both interpretations the reason Moshe addressed Hashem in this way was based on the fact that every individual has a different ‘spirit’, i.e. personality and mindset. Moshe prayed for a leader who was able to deal appropriately with each individual.

The person who took over the job as leader of the nation would have many critical roles. He would serve as the leading prophet and conduit between Hashem and the Jewish people, the military and political leader, and primary teacher of Torah for the entire nation. He would be given the impossible task of filling Moshe’s shoes. One would think that if Moshe were to pray for an adequate successor he would focus on the knowledge, wisdom, experience, charisma, and strength to be able to handle such a monumental responsibility. Why was it that his focus was on the ability to handle many different types of people?

The Medrash is teaching us an amazing insight into what true leadership is about. Of course, any person who assumes a leadership role must meet the basic qualifications and competencies to be able to handle his or her responsibilities. However, the essence of leadership goes beyond that. To be a truly successful leader a person needs to be able to understand, tolerate, and meet the individual needs of the people he or she is responsible to lead.

If we examine this episode more closely, we can learn an additional insight about this concept. If we take a theoretical person in a leadership position who has stellar qualifications for every part of the job but lacks the ability to understand and meet the needs of the individual how would this affect his leadership? Presumably, we would think that he might struggle with the few individuals who are more needy and require special attention but he would still be able to fulfill his leadership responsibilities successfully for the majority of the group. Although to such a leader the single individual’s needs might not matter too much, in most cases, the group can thrive, even if some members are lost. If this kind of leader was acceptable, it would not make sense for the quality of understanding each individual to be the major focus of Moshe’s prayer. This quality would not be a highly relevant factor for the overwhelming majority of the people who are well adjusted and get al
ong just fine without any special attention.

Apparently, there is a fundamental difference between a leader who can address the needs of each individual versus one who can’t. A good leader recognizes that he does not have one job of being leader of a group but rather that he has a million jobs of being the leader of each individual member of his group. He does not have the right to walk away from any of his duties, and so he will not ignore the challenging person. A leader who feels this responsibility toward every individual is fundamentally different from one who sees himself as the head of a single unit.

Moshe therefore asked Hashem for a leader who understood and was tolerant of all people. Moshe’s successor surely had to perform his global duties, and do so in an outstanding manner. Nevertheless, being truly outstanding at treating each person as a special and unique individual rather than as a component of a unit was even more important. This quality is the essence of true leadership. A leader who possesses this quality has a completely different impact on every single person under his leadership, even the ones who aren’t difficult to understand and guide.

Certainly, this lesson has great relevance to anyone who is, or is aspiring to be, in a leadership position. However, in a certain sense most people are leaders to one extent or another. We all have the opportunity, and responsibility, to influence others in a positive way in various guiding roles. We can influence the life of a child, nephew or niece, spouse, student, employee, co-worker, friend. If we understand the importance of recognizing, appreciating, and valuing each person’s individual needs, we will be able to not only be a better friend or parent to that person, but also to be a more effective catalyst for personal growth and harmony in every person’s life we touch.


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