פרשת דברים / ד’ באב תשפ”ב
The commandment to appoint judges is one of the most important for a just society. Moses commands the judges that they have to be just in their decisions. They cannot favor one party over the other, neither rich nor poor, neither the powerful nor the powerless,
פרשת פנחס / כ”ג בתמוז תשפ”ב
When the daughters of Zelaphad approached Moses about their inheritance rights he asked them to wait for an answer. He knew that the decision would be the basis of decisions for the future. In the case of Pinchas he could not wait, he had to take action immediately to prevent a clear and present danger. A true leader has to realize what is an emergency and what is not.
פרשת פנחס / כ”א בתמוז תשפ”ב
In this week’s portion we learn the difference between real leadership and a leader that follows the crowd. Pinchas was not yet chosen to be leader but had a moral compass. Zimri had inherited his position as leader of the Tribe of Shimon and had no moral compass. Zimri thought he could get away with violating the law flagrantly due to his family’s influence. He was mistaken and paid with his life.
פרשת פנחס / כ’בתמוז תשפ”ב
Moses has to find the next leader of the Jewish people in this week’s Portion. He chooses Joshua. The thinking is that Joshua knows how to speak to the people and how to make hard decisions, which is one of the qualifications of a leader. You can’t always be popular.
פרשת פנחס / י”ט בתנוז תשפ”ב
The Portion starts out with Pinchas receiving the blessing of peace. The reason is that he had just killed Zimri and Koziba. Even though they deserved to die and Pinchas was justified in doing so, he was disturbed by his action. Taking a life is a serious matter even when justified.
פרשת בלק / י”ב בתמוז תשפ”ב
Balaam is warned at the very beginning of this week’s portion that his attempt to curse the Jewish people is doomed to failure by no less than God. Yet he persists in the project. Why? He could not admit that he made a mistake in accepting this job.
פרשת חקת / ז’ בתמוז תשפ”ב
In this week’s portion Moses hits the rock in the wilderness to bring out water. God tells Moses that he did not do as instructed. He should have spoken to the rock. He was punished for this. The fact that the Torah records this is to underline that Moses was human and not a God.
פרשת חקת / ו’ בתמוז תשפ”ב
One of the lessons of this week’s Portion is that Aaron, Miriam and Moses prepared the leadership to come after them. Do not assume that they will learn by osmosis. They need to be educated both in knowledge and in spirit.