VaEtchanan- Transition in Leadership

Parashat VaEthannan begins with a conversation between Moshe and God about the passing on of Moshe’s leadership. 

For most of us, accepting that the time to pass the baton has arrived is not easy.  Put yourself in Moshe’s place.  Here is a man who grew up as a prince in Egypt.  He could have continued to live in that great dynasty, but he saw the injustice around him and fled.  In Midian he builds a new life, one with a family.  He is secure, and lives a full life there.  Then, at age 80 God calls him, and Moshe could not refuse.  He returns to Egypt.  He enters the palace of his youth, and he acts as the messenger of its downfall.  Leading the people Israel out of slavery, Moshe thinks his job is almost done.  Then, with the sin of the spies, he is given a forty-year extension.  For forty years Moshe continues to lead the people, dealing with their squabbles, their needs, and their constant griping.  Then, on the precipice of entering the Promised Land, Moshe must step down. 

Moshe’s death in the wilderness is often seen as a punishment.  Even in our parasha Moshe says,  “The Lord was angry with me” (Devarim 4:21).  But Moshe’s life of 120 years is also seen as the ideal full life.  Jewish custom wishes someone ad meah v’esrim, until 120, on his/her birthday.  Perhaps God was angry with Moshe, but perhaps God was also simply saddened to realize that the traits that made Moshe the perfect shepherd would also hinder him on the next leg of the journey.

There is a time for every leader to train others, to step down, and to be willing to watch as the organization moves on.  Our experiences make us who we are, and sometimes ready us for leadership, but at other times those same experiences mean we must step down.  For Moshe, his experiences as a shepherd made him the perfect leader to guide the people, but those same experiences made him unfit to be the military commander Israel now needed. 

Soon we will begin the month of Elul, a time to examine our past and look towards the future.  As we do so, I hope we can all examine our experiences to lead ourselves on the journeys for which we are best suited.