Category: Leadership

  • You Have to Earn It

    The big mistake that Aaron’s sons made was that they assumed that they would inherit the status of their father without having earned it. This is to teach us that just because your parents are great does not mean that you will be. You have to earn it.

  • Know Before Whom You Are Standing

    Moses was admonished at the burning bush to know before whom he was standing. This was also an admonishment to remember that he would be speaking to slaves would not really be interested in long speeches. They wanted their freedom.

  • Being Nice is Not Enough

    When Moses saw the Egyptian taskmaster beating the Jew, he looked around and did not see another man. This is to teach us to do the right thing even if it isn’t the nice thing.

  • Listen To Your Elders

    The reason that the tribe of Levi was not enslaved was that Levi was still alive when Pharaoh succeeded in fooling the Jews. Levi, though saw through Pharaoh’s plot and told his descendants not to be fooled.

  • Limiting the Power of the King

    While recognizing that a leader was needed, the Torah limits the power of the king. It is interesting to note that this passage was the basis for the constitutional limits on the president of the US.

  • Don’t Be a Normal Nation

    The first of the Ten Commandments is that God took us out of Egypt. One of the thoughts is that we were not taken out of Egypt to be a normal nation but to be a light until the other nations.

  • The 3 Weeks & the Redemption

    There were many bad things that happened to the Jewish people during the 3 Weeks. But it is also the time that we will see the beginning of the Redemption.

  • Moses’s Last Speech

    The Book of Deuteronomy is all about how to set up society once the Jews reach the Land of Israel. Moses’s main concern was that the Jews not copy the ways of the Egyptians or their society.

  • Korach & the HMS Bounty

    The dispute between Korach and Moses was really an ego trip on Korach’s part. In such a case it would have ended with Korach and his followers fighting with each other, much like the crew of the Bounty who killed each other after they mutinied.

  • The Hubris of Power

    The problems of the scouts that Moses sent was that they were the leaders of the tribes. They felt that they would lose power if they gave a good report. That is why they sabotaged the whole effort.