Category: Leadership

  • Judging Pharaoh

    Pharaoh presented himself as a god. His authority was based on this. When it was proven that he was not a god he lost his authority.

  • God’s Hand in the World

    All the plagues in Egypt could be explained as happening through natural means. The fact that Pharaoh could not understand that it was the hand of God tells us the real problem in Egypt.

  • Pharaoh’s True Punishment

    The true punishment of Pharaoh was the taking away his free will. Free will is one of the things that separates humans from animals. By removing this Pharaoh was being made into an animal.

  • True Brotherly Love

    When Moses arrived back to Egypt his brother, Aaron, greeted him with love and happiness. Aaron was the older brother and had been in Egypt for all the years that Moses was away. Instead of being jealous he was overjoyed for his brother.

  • Learning to be a Leader

    Moses spent 40 years in Midian before he began his mission to save the Jewish people. Those 40 years were spent learning to be a leader from his father-in-law.

  • Know Before Whom You Are Standing

    When Moses was at the burning bush he was told to remove his shoes. One of the reasons was that he should stand on rocky ground so that he would feel the pain that the enslaved Jews were feeling. A leader has to understand the pain and suffering of their followers.

  • Remember Why We Fight

    The fast of the 10th of comes a week after we finish celebrating Hanukah. This is to teach us that the Hasmoneans lost sight of the reason for the war against the Hellenists. Over the generations they became Hellenists. When we lose sight of the goal we lose all.

  • Leaders Need a Moral Compass

    The reason that Judah became a great leader was that he had a moral compass. And when he was wrong he admitted it.

  • Leadership Has to Be Earned

    Reuben should have been the leader of the brothers but failed. He meant well but was lacking in judgement. Judah will become the leader due to his judgement.

  • The Imperfection of Joseph

    In this week’s portion we see that Joseph is Jacob’s favorite son. Joseph flaunts his status in front of his brothers. He will have to learn humility the hard way.