“When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from
his throne, took off his robe, put on sackcloth and sat in ashes. And he had the word cried through Nineveh: ‘By
decree of the king and his nobles: every man and beast – of flock or herd –
shall not taste anything! They shall not
graze and they shall not drink water!
Let them be covered with sackcloth – man and beast – and call mightily
to God. Let every person turn back from
his evil ways and from the injustice which is in his hand. Who knows, God may turn and repent, and turn
back from His wrath, so that we do not perish.’”[1] These words end chapter 3 of the book of
Jonah, the afternoon Haftarah for Yom Kippur.
In this short section, we learn a lot about this king of Nineveh. But how did we get here?
Jonah is sent by God to warn the people of Nineveh of
their impending doom if they do not repent from their ways. At first, Jonah doesn’t want to go, and he
runs in the other direction. Well, as we
all know, you can’t hide from God and so God causes Jonah to be swallowed by a
large fish, sometimes translated as whale, and spit out at Nineveh. Jonah walks into the city and begins to tell
the people of God’s judgment against them.
And then our story picks up. The
people immediately begin to repent after hearing Jonah’s prophesy. And then word reaches the King. The King doesn’t ever meet Jonah. Jonah never makes it to the palace. But the king begins to repent anyway. He has seen his people do it. He knows that
he and his city have angered God and invoked God’s wrath. And so, the King does what any good leader
would do, and he leads by example. Not
only does he insist that he and the nobles repent and fast, but he insists that
everyone in the city do it, too, including the beasts!
Typically, when we talk about The Book of Jonah, we focus
our attention on the prophet Jonah and the themes of repentance and listening
to God. But let us, for a moment, focus
on this king of Nineveh. What is it about this king that makes him a good
leader? We don’t know that much about
him. He allowed his city to get out of
control. Otherwise, what would Jonah be
doing there? But, we do know that he
pays attention to and takes seriously the threats that are leveled against his
city. Then, he works to ensure that his
city is safe and secure, by whatever means necessary. He shows a true sense of leadership, if a
little late in the game. He protects his
people, and takes part in the work that needs to be done. He doesn’t wait for the proclamation from
Jonah to come to him. He hears of it,
takes it seriously, and acts.
The King of Nineveh presents one kind of leader. If you had to think of what it means to be, or
what it takes to be, a leader, what would you include on your list of
qualifications? If you had to picture
the ideal leader, what would he look like?
How would she act? What is it
about them that makes them a leader?
***
God calls to Moses from the Burning Bush. Moses’ first reaction, often interpreted as a
sign of modesty, is to say: “ מִי אָנֹכִי, כִּי
אֵלֵךְ אֶל-פַּרְעֹה Who
am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the people out of
Egypt?”[2] Who am I?
He questions his fitness to lead.
But it’s also more introspective. “Who am I?
Mi Anochi?” What do I bring with
me that will allow me to lead? What are
the parts of me that allow me to help the people out of their difficult
situation?
The
first step to leadership is to know and understand who we are. Each of us must come to know what it is that
drives us. Who are we to be
leaders? Who are we to take up
these tasks?
Just
before Moses asks this question, God reminds him that he is an Israelite. God ensures that Moses knows why this upcoming
mission is important to him. Who are you? God answers: You are an Israelite, and you
will be a leader of the Israelites.
Moses
continues his inquiries. “Behold, when I
come to the children of Israel, and say to them: The God of your fathers has sent me to you; and they shall say to me: “What is His name?” what shall I
say to them?”[3] Moses immediately begins to process what it
will take to free the people. He knows
that the most difficult part of the process won’t be dealing with the Pharaoh;
it will be dealing with the people.
Moses recognizes the challenges ahead and works to overcome them. When Moses asks God what to tell the people,
he understands that they will need convincing, perhaps as much as the pharaoh.
Ultimately,
God will ensure the people know the answer.
The plagues that God sends via Moses and Aaron are not just for the
Egyptians to suffer, they are also to convince the Israelites about God and
God’s power. Moses gets this
immediately. His first concern is how to ensure that his constituency will
follow his lead. He intrinsically
understands the complications that can arise from being a leader.
Know
who you are. Ask the right questions. Discover and address the potential
pitfalls.
***
The people are at the Sea of Reeds. They see the water before them. The desert behind them, with Egypt not so far
beyond that. The chariots of the
Pharaoh’s army approach and the people cry out: “Is it because there were no
graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why did
you do this to us, bring us forth out of Egypt?”[4] Their fear and frustration, just a handful of
days into their journey is about to boil over.
They are ready to go back to Egypt.
They are ready to surrender. Even
as Moses stretches his hand out over the waters as instructed by God. Even as God promises to redeem the people and
allow them to cross on dry land. Even as
they have witnessed the plagues and the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud,
the people are nervous. They are
scared. They are entering the unknown,
the wilderness. Nothing is
happening. Moses waits, trusting in
God. The people’s restlessness is
palpable.
Just then, one man, Nachshon ben Aminadav, takes a first
step into the waters. They are cool on
his feet, and the sand gives way beneath his weight. He trusts in God, and in Moses. He takes another step. The people behind him point and deride his
foolishness. “He’ll drown!” They call out. The cries of the children and the shouts of
the men and women don’t faze him, though.
He is determined. He takes
another step in. The water up to his
knees. His tunic weighted down as he
moves forward into the surf. Another
step. Another step.
The
water is at his chest now, and the screams of the people behind him comingle with
the waves and the water sloshing about his body. He is cold.
He is wet. He does not
doubt. Moses, above, arms outstretched,
awaiting God’s action. The people, on the shore, crying out in distress. And Nachshon, taking one more step, until the
waters reach up to his nostrils. “God
will save us,” he thinks to himself. He
takes one more step. A step that will
submerge him completely into the salty waters.
His toe hits the sand beneath. He begins to lose his balance, the weight
of the water pushing him around. Just
then, as he prepares to breathe his last, the waters part and his foot falls on
dry sand beneath.
God
has saved the people, but God needed someone to take the plunge. Someone to trust completely in the project at
hand, put aside the doubts and the difficulties, and take a step into the
unknown.
***
The people have entered the land. Joshua has led them valiantly and they have
conquered cities and countryside alike.
The tribes settle into their allotted lands. But there are dangers about, surrounding the
people on all sides, other tribes, other nations. Wars of conquest continue throughout the time
of the Judges. One of the judges,
overseeing the region of Ephraim, Deborah is known for her wisdom and candor. She is a prophet as well as a judge. She sets
up her court under a palm tree, flourishing in righteousness, resting in its
shade. The people come from far and wide
to seek her counsel. They bring their
questions and their disputes to her. She
judges fairly and recognizes the threats on the horizon.
She calls her general, Barack ben Abinoam to battle on
Mt. Tabor, against the Canaanite enemy, which seeks the Israelites’
destruction. Go to the mountain, engage
Sisera the Canaanite captain, and defeat him.
But Barack is nervous. He knows
what he’s up against. He doesn’t want to
go alone. “Come with me.” He says to Deborah. “If you go, I will
go. But if you do not, I will not go
fight.”[5]
"Ok,
“she says. But this is not her task.
This is not what she is commanded to do. She is to be a judge and a
prophet, and relay God’s message. She is
no general. She is no military
woman. “Ok,” she says. “But know that if I come with you, you will
receive no glory, for the enemy will not be delivered into your hand, but into
the hand of a woman.”[6]
And
so they went together, to battle.
Deborah, Barack and 10,000 men to defeat the Canaanites. Deborah was not afraid to go. Though it was not her assigned duty, to lead
the army, to go off to battle… Though it took her out from under her palm tree,
her known place… Though she was not a strategist of battle… Still, Deborah
went. She led her people to battle. She stepped out of her comfort zone, out of
what she thought she would be able to do, out of the role to which she had
become accustomed. She led her people by
being willing to do something different, because it had to be done.
***
The
Temple is built in Jerusalem. The people
come from all over Israel three times a year to offer sacrifices to God. But this day is different. This day, The Day, Ha-Yom, Yom haKippurim,
the ceremony is unique for the year.
This day all the people of Israel, from the chieftains and the priests
to the woodchoppers and waterdrawers look to one man, the Kohen Gadol, the High
Priest, to absolve them of their wrongdoing by casting their sins out on a goat
which is sent off a cliff, into the wilderness, to carry away the wrongdoings
of the people and render them clean.
To
accomplish this ritual, the High Priest first must prepare. The ritual begins at dawn. He is clothed in white linen from head to
toe. Before he can go into the Holy of
Holies, the innermost sanctum of the Temple on Mt. Moriah to pronounce the
unpronounceable name of God, the secret eternal word that only he utters and
only on this day, the word that purifies and cleanses the people, the word that
destroys should it be misused… Before he can utter that word, he prepares. He atones and is purified. But, as with all his actions, there is an
order, a seder, to the work, the Avodah, he is about to perform. There is a crescendo of purification, showing
his place among the people and the People’s place before God.
He
first atones for his sins.[7] He presents a bull to the Eternal, its
pleasant odor, its reach nichoach, reaching up to the heavens in pillars
of smoke. He cleanses his soul of its
sins.
He then proceeds to consider his
family. He atones for his family. He
makes expiation for the entire house of Levi, the Kohanim and the Levi’im,
for the wrongs they have committed, for the errors of judgment or errors of
procedure over the last year. They are
purified and cleansed of sin.
He
considers the people Israel. All they
have done that they should not. All they
have not done that they should. He looks
out at them and atones for their sins by sacrificing a goat to the
Eternal. By this goat, the people have
atoned. By this goat, the people are
ready to be fully cleansed and renewed in their covenant with the Eternal for
another year.
He has atoned. He has atoned for his family and his
tribe. He has atoned for the entire
people. He enters the Kodesh HaKodeshim,
he places incense on the fire, so the room is filled with smoke and he
pronounces the name of the Eternal, praying for himself, his family and the
people, he trusts that God will not strike him down. When he emerges, the people respond: Baruch Shem Kavod Malchuto L’Olam Va’ed! Praised be his glorious name, whose kingdom
lasts forever!” The people are cleansed.
The
High Priest moves from personal concerns, to familial concerns to communal
concerns. His sins, his family’s sins,
the people’s sins. He addresses all of
them, understanding his place in the community, how he and his family relate to
the entire population and how much they have in common. Truthfully, he knows that he is just like
them. He knows that he is mortal, that
he has foibles and problems. He
understands who he is, but he also sees the bigger picture. He can see himself in his entire family and
in his entire population.
***
The
Temple is destroyed. The people are sent
away. They are in exile in Babylonia,
weeping by the rivers, praying for return to their land, praying that they do
not forget Jerusalem, their holy city.
They remember who they are, but they are crushed. They recall the glory of their Temple, now a
memory, distant, fading. They are called
to by a prophet of the Eternal, Isaiah. Now,
he reaches out to them with words of comfort.
They
knew him from before the destruction, before the exile. They didn’t listen to him, then, but they
hear his messages now, in hindsight. They
didn’t pay heed to his words and his reminders.
God will punish you, he told them.
You are not acting properly, he admonished. But the people didn’t listen. His voice drowned out by the hustle and
bustle of day to day business. The wails
and cries of the orphans and the widows drowned out by the too secular business
of the Holy City.
Now,
though, Isaiah doesn't continue to decry their wrongs and their misdeeds. He offers words of comfort. Words of consolation. Comfort, Comfort, my people.[8] Comfort, says the Eternal. Isaiah knows there is a time and a place for
warning and a time and a place for comfort.
There is a time to hold a mirror up to the people, to show them their
wrongs. Now is not that time. Now is a
time to welcome the people with open arms and show them how to get back into
God’s grace and God’s favor. God wants
the people to be comforted, even in their exile, but God also wants them to
change.
Isaiah
knows when to be stern and when to be calm.
He understands what the people need and he doesn’t want to turn them
away by reminding them that he foresaw this calamity and warned them. No, now he sees the people in distress and he
comforts them.
***
Over
the next number of months, this congregation will be embarking on an initiative
to refocus our leadership. What is it
that our leaders should be doing? What
is it that we expect of our leaders? Who
are our future leaders? All of these
questions will be answered, but more organically, by listening, by fostering
relationships. A group of congregants
have already agreed to facilitate these conversations. They are all being trained to help us reach
the next part of who we are. They will soon
be reaching out to you and to our entire congregation to join in on these
conversations.
As
a congregation, we need all kinds of leaders.
We need leaders like Moses who know what it takes to start the
process. We need leaders like Nachshon
who are willing to take the first steps.
We need leaders like Deborah, not afraid to step out of what they are
used to doing. We need leaders like the
High Priest who can see the personal as well as the communal. And we need leaders like Isaiah who know when
to comfort and when to challenge. We
also need leaders like the King of Nineveh, who knew when to heed the call, and
make a change. We need everyone to
participate, because we all have the capability to be leaders, and the only way
we will ensure that our congregation continues to support each of us and all of
us is by all of us and each of us working to further our goals together.
Where
is this congregation going? Who will
lead it on? All of us and each of
us. Our sacred history shows us there is
more than one way to lead. Let us write
the next chapters of this congregation’s sacred history together.
G’mar
Chatimah Tovah – May you be inscribed well in the book of life.
No comments:
Post a Comment