January 16th- parasha Shmot

This Shabbat, as President-elect Barack Obama prepares to take office, and we hope for peace in Eretz Israel, we begin the central story of the Jewish people with sefer Shmot- Exodus. Shmot opens with the children of Jacob becoming the people Israel enslaved in Egypt. Yet as quickly as chapter 2 we are introduced to Israel's saviour in the character of Moses. Moses is often referred to as the epitome of a leader, even with his speech impediment and outbursts of passion and impatience (which arguably prevent him from ultimately entering Eretz Yisrael). For me, what makes Moses such a compelling leader is his humanity. The Torah chronicles Moses' growth into leadership, enabling us to both connect with and learn from him.

In this parsha I am most struck by a set of events demonstrating Moses' leadership capability before God taps Moses as official saviour of Israel via a burning bush. In the second chapter of Exodus, verses 11 through 19 chronicle three encounters. In the first encounter Moses comes across an Egyptian smiting (מַכֶּה - could be beating or killing) a fellow Hebrew. Moses looks to make sure no one is around and then kills the Egyptian, hiding him in the sand. In the second encounter, the very next day, Moses comes upon two Hebrews fighting together. This time, in lieu of responding physically (as with the Egyptian), he asks the one who had committed the wrong (לָרָשָׁע) why he was hurting his fellow Hebrew (רֵעֶךָ) . The wrongdoer responds snidily, chiding "Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Moses does not know how to react to this, and fearing for his safety he flees to Midian. There he has his third encounter. Sitting by a well Moses sees the daughters of Midian's priest being harassed by shepherds. Unlike in the first encounter, there is no mention of violence, and unlike the second encounter, there is no indication of indecision on Moses' part when challenged. Rather, the Torah reports that Moses saved the women from the shepherds (in the women's words), drew water for them and watered their flock. Later he takes one of the daughters, Zipporah, as his wife.

Late Israeli Biblical scholar Nechama Leibowitz (quoted in Etz Hayim- Torah and Commentary at p. 325) writes of how the three encounters demonstrate Moses' universal sense of justice: "Three times Moses interevenes on behalf of a weak person oppressed by a stronger one: first an Israelite beaten by an Egyptian, then an Israelite beaten by another Israelite, and finally the Midianite women harassed by the shepherds. Had we been told only of the first clash, we might have doubted the unselfishness of his motives. Perhaps he had been motivated by the sense of solidarity with his own people... Had we been faced with the second example, we might still have had our doubts. Perhaps he was revolted by the disgrace of witnessing internal strife among his own folk. Came the third clash, where both parties were outsiders... his sense of justice and fair play was exclusively involved." [emphasis added]

Certainly a universal sense of justice and fair play are key leadership attributes, but I see even more here. The three encounters show Moses growing and learning how to act and react in challenging situations. Moses first responds to injustice with violence and cover-up. The next day, though, he uses his voice instead- he challenges the Israelite's actions with words. At this point, though, he is not able to complete the conversation with persuasive communication. He fears what he hears from the Israelite and flees. Finally, in Midian, Moses seems to address conflict with success- he is able to fend off the shepherds without any indication of violence, and takes the further steps of caring for the Midianite women and their flock.

Moses, at this early stage, has displayed his capacity to 'stay alive through the dangers of leading' (the challenge raised in the book Leadership on the Line). He has shown his sense of justice, and also his ability to learn and cope with conflict. These leadership qualities indicate his readiness to take the helm of the Israelite people (despite his protestations to the contrary) when called to do so by God in the very next chapter. As Barack Obama prepares to take the helm of the United States, and world leaders work to resolve the current conflict in the Gaza strip, perhaps it would be worthwhile for all to open up parsha Shmot (along with Leadership on the Line !) and reflect on the models of leadership described therein.

Shabbat shalom,
Dara Lithwick