Lead, don’t concede! | Rabbi Stewart Weiss | Beit Midrash

קטגוריה משנית

Of all the trials & tribulations experienced by Bnei Yisrael in the desert, two events stand out the most for their tragic implications. These, of course, were the incidents of the Golden Calf, & the Spies of this week's Sedra.

Yet the reaction to these two incidents is radically different. After the Egel HaZahav, there was a strong reproach from Hashem & some bloodletting, but then we moved on. Yet in the wake of the Meraglim, an entire generation of 600,000 souls would die out & our entrance into Israel would be delayed by 40 years of wandering!

Why the huge discrepancy between the two incidents?

One suggestion is that the sin of the Calf was an error in faith - we thought we needed a go-between in order to reach Hashem - while the Spies episode was essentially a failure of morals & Midot, primarily our lack of self-confidence. And while you can teach people the basics of faith & religion in relatively short order (just witness the rapid metamorphosis of ba’alei teshuva!), changing the personality traits of a nation was a monumental task & would take much, much longer.

But there is another fundamental difference between the Egel & the Meraglim. In the case of the Egel HaZahav, who were the primary perpetrators? The general public, the rank-and-file, the "man in the street" (note that the women heroically did not take part!) They were the ones that agitated for & built the Calf; Moshe was busy up on the Mount & Ahron couldn't stop them.

Yet who perpetrated the sin of the Spies? The Princes, the leaders, the creme-de-la-creme of each & every Shevet! These were men chosen to be our heroes & role models, yet they turned into spineless wimps with neither the spirit nor the strength to do the job. Somewhere down the line, they lost their nerve, their faith, their sense of historical purpose. And they failed us.

While G-d can forgive the average person for sometimes failing to live up to all of his or her potential, leaders are special & they are judged by infinitely higher standards. The nation depends upon them, & they dare not lose their will. For if they fall, then many will fall with them, & so the penalty for their failure will be very severe.

If you lack that inner courage, if you can't take the heat, better not to become a leader - & certainly not to stay in that position when you do waver.

Good advice - then and now.