This article by Rabbi Maor Greene, associate chaplain for Jewish life, was originally published on The Wisdom Daily, CLAL's outlet for political, cultural, and spiritual commentary, analysis, and inspiration. CLAL (The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership) is a leading Jewish organization focused on innovation and belonging.
Transitions in leadership can be fraught with uncertainty. What happens when an aging leader is asked to give up power? Will a leader graciously hand over power to the next generation? How can transitions be handled with dignity for all parties involved? In the current political climate of US elections, many of us are asking these exact questions.
These questions are also at the forefront of this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Pinchas. In Numbers 27:12-14, God reminds Moses that he will die before reaching the promised land. Sensing the uncertainty of this moment, Moses asks that God appoint his successor. God then singles out Joshua, son of Nun, and Moses lays his hands upon Joshua, embodying the change in leadership in front of the entire community.
Because we know how the Israelites’ story ends, we may not notice how precarious this moment of transition truly is. How many movements fail when their charismatic founder steps down? If this transition in leadership is not handled correctly, the nascent Israelite Torah community may not survive.
God describes Joshua as a person possessing unique spiritual characteristics that merit his succeeding Moses. However, God also describes how Moses needs to publicly transfer power and authority to Joshua. Joshua will need the support of Moses and the community to become Israel’s new leader, even as he represents a very different kind of leadership.
As is typical in biblical narratives, the text gives few clues about how the characters may have felt about this situation. How did the Israelites feel about receiving a young new leader? Was Moses disappointed or pleased, reluctant or enthusiastic? Joshua was Moses’ most important student, but perhaps Moses would have preferred one of his sons to inherit his role (as Rashi suggests).
When texts contain uncertainties, midrash often fills in the gaps. The Talmud (Bava Batra 75a) describes how God’s commanding Moses to place some of his splendor onto Joshua implies that Moses was not meant to put all of his splendor onto Joshua. According to the Talmud, “The elders of that generation said that the face of Moses was like the face of the sun and the face of Joshua was like the face of the moon.” The elders felt embarrassed that they did not merit another leader of Moses’ stature. One can only wonder how Joshua must have felt in being chosen to follow in the footsteps of God’s original mouthpiece.
Elsewhere in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 105b), we gain greater insight into how Moses may have been feeling. Rav Yosei bar Choni says that a person can be jealous of everyone except their child or student. This is because the success of children and students can be seen as a reflection of the success of a parent or teacher. One of the proofs brought is this week’s Parsha. God commands Moses to lay his hand (singular) upon Joshua, but Moses lays both of his hands (plural) upon him. Perhaps Moses did, in fact, feel a sense of disappointment, jealousy, or loss about this transition. After all, God has asked him to hand over his life’s work to a younger student before it has been completed. Yet when the time comes to act, Moses goes above and beyond God’s instructions, committing both hands to Joshua’s success. Moses realizes that Joshua’s leadership will also define his own legacy.
Like Moses, much of my work as a campus rabbi involves helping my students develop into leaders who take ownership of their own identities, experiences, and communities. I can attest that the work of leadership development is as hands-on as ever. I also experience the paradox that the ultimate indicator that I have done my job well is that my students no longer need me. Being a rabbi and teacher is like parenting: I am hoping and planning for my own obsolescence.
At first glance, transitions in leadership can seem sad. There is a loss in giving up a place of power. However, these transitions also generate intense joy. We are not giving up leadership so much as giving to the next generation. I know that I experience deep and lasting satisfaction whenever I see my students succeed.
We learn from Moses and Joshua that leadership is not just about learning to exercise power effectively. Leadership is also about learning to share power, and knowing how and when to give it up and give it to others.
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Views expressed in this column are the author’s own and not necessarily those of Elon University.