God commands Moses that he choose Joshua as the next leader. Moses never brings up the fact that he has two sons. Moses knows that, while his sons were good men, they were not leadership material. Joshua was.
Now for a brief devarTorah.
One of the most important events in this week’s parashah is that Joshua is chosen to become the next leader of the Jewish people. God tells Moses that he will not enter the Land of Israel and that it is time to appoint a successor.
One thing stands out immediately. Moses never suggests his own sons. He had two sons, Gershom and Eliezer, yet he does not argue that leadership should stay within his family. I’m sure they were fine and righteous men, but after they’re introduced in the Torah, we hear very little about them.
Joshua, on the other hand, had spent decades preparing for leadership. He was Moses’ closest disciple. He accompanied him throughout the wilderness, remained faithful after the sin of the spies, and devoted himself to learning not only the Torah but also what it meant to lead a nation. Leadership was something he had earned through dedication and service.
Moses accepts God’s decision without complaint. That teaches one of the Torah’s great lessons about leadership. No leader remains forever. A true leader doesn’t simply think about today’s challenges; he thinks about tomorrow. Who will continue the mission after I’m gone? Who has the ability, the character, and the commitment to lead?
The Torah rejects the idea that leadership automatically passes from father to son. Sometimes it does, but only if that person is the right choice. The responsibility is to choose the best leader, not simply the closest relative.
I remember learning this lesson years ago while doing reserve duty in Israel. One of the other soldiers and I were responsible for assigning guard duty—including our own. It happened to be election season, and we actually arranged our schedules so we wouldn’t miss the televised campaign broadcasts. They were fascinating.
The soldier I worked with came from a longtime Labor family. During one of the broadcasts, two young Likud politicians appeared: Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Begin, the son of Menachem Begin. After watching them, my friend turned to me and said, “Labor is in trouble.”
I asked why.
He said, “Look at these young, energetic leaders coming up. Who do we have to match them?”
Whether or not one agreed with Menachem Begin’s politics, he understood something essential about leadership: no leader lasts forever. A movement, an organization, or a nation must constantly develop the next generation of capable leaders. Interestingly, Begin’s own son did not inherit leadership simply because he was his son. Leadership had to be earned.
That is exactly the lesson Moses teaches us. He loved his sons, but he recognized that Joshua was the person best prepared to lead the Jewish people.
Every leader—whether in a family, a business, a congregation, or a nation—should ask one question:
Who am I preparing to take my place?
Because the greatest leaders are remembered not only for what they accomplished, but for the leaders they left behind.
Something to think about.
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