The Real Leadership Crisis Parshas Korach
Allow me to paint a fictional picture of two political candidates. As you listen, I want you to think about which one of these candidates you would vote for.
Imagine the scene – Imagine that on this stage, there are two people vying for the role of leader. One is wealthy; self-made – we’ll call him… D. The other has been involved in politics for decades – we’ll call him… J.
One of the candidates, J, the politically connected candidate, is over 80 years old.
D begins the debate by pointing out that J had one campaign promise, and he has not fulfilled it. J agrees; he doesn’t argue.
D argues that the elite are taking over the nation. J does not really have an argument… we do not know what his beliefs are because he does not respond.
Which one of these candidates would you vote for? J or D?
To clarify, I am NOT talking about Joe Biden and Donald Trump. This political showdown I just described to you might sound a lot like current events, but it is actually a description of today’s Torah portion; the showdown between Korach, a 62-year-old, wealthy, charismatic man, and Aaron, the High Priest, an 83-year-old who was appointed to his role by his brother.
Aaron and his brother Moshe promised the Jewish People that they would enter the land of Israel, but as Dasan and Aviram correctly point out, they did not follow through with their campaign promise.
As the debate gets more heated, Moshe challenges Aharon and Korach to an incense-burning competition, which as crazy as it sounds is far better than fighting over who is a better golfer.
(That debate was really something.
I have never been so embarrassed to be American and I’m Canadian.)
Back to the Biblical debate. Korach is rocking it. He has broad support from the masses and from the establishment. He has some valid arguments; “Why are we not in Israel already?” And, “Are we not all holy? Why do you, Aaron, take the mantle of leadership for yourself?”
How does Aaron respond to these strong-sounding arguments? Do you know what he says?
Not. A. Word.
Throughout the entire Torah portion, Aaron is silent.
Not because he is 83 and forgot his lines. He is silent on principle. He is silent because his silence, explains the Sefas Emes, is what demonstrates that he is the true leader of the Jewish People.
Let me explain. The Western world has a leadership problem. And no, I do not mean the lack of solid presidential candidates though what I am about to describe may be a symptom of this issue. The leadership problem that I am referring to is that we are obsessed with leadership.
Go look at the classes being offered in any given business school. A good portion of them will be some variation on how to become a great leader. The vast majority of books written on the topic of business are all about leadership. It’s not just in the business world; it’s in the not-for-profit and Jewish world as well. If there is a mission to Israel, it’s not just a mission, it’s a leadership mission. If a federation wants to start a new program, there is a 9/10 chance that the world leader will be part of its name. Even some of our greatest Jewish educators got into this leadership craze – search ‘leadership lessons from the Torah’ and you will be overwhelmed.
Why is this a problem?
First of all, there is a technical problem. If everyone is a leader, who exactly are they leading?
But it’s much deeper than that. Listen to the way Korach describes leadership and compare it to how Moshe describes leadership. When Korach describes leadership, he uses the term hit’na’asut, which means to be above everyone else (“Madua tit’nasu al k’hal Hashem?”). Moshe describes leadership as sheirut – service – la’amod lifnei ha’eidah l’sharsam, to stand before the nation and serve them. Korach saw leadership as being elevated above others; Moshe saw leadership as being beneath everyone else, holding them up.
There is nothing wrong with leadership per se, but it depends on the type of leadership. Judaism promotes leaders who do not see themselves at the center of the action; they are there to facilitate the growth and success of everyone around them – a servant. This is why greatness, in Judaism, is associated with humility. Think about the terminology we use to describe special people in Jewish society. The holiest gurus are not described as ‘Spiritual Masters,’ but rather as Ovdei Hashem, those who serve G-d. The greatest scholars are not described as ‘Grand Teachers,’ but rather, Talmidei Chachamim, students of wisdom.
Aharon, explains the Sefas Emes, was worthy of his position, precisely because he kept his mouth shut during the rebellion of Korach. Aharon was quiet not because he had nothing to say, but because he truly did not want the honors bestowed upon him. While Korach was yelling and screaming for attention, Aharon tried to make himself disappear.
This showdown between Korach on the one side and Moshe and Aharon on the other repeats itself every day and in each and every one of our lives.
Do we act like a servant or like someone who wants to be served? Do we act like Aharon, making ourselves small? Do we act like Moshe, serving those who need us? Or do we act like Korach, grabbing all the attention in the room?
We are going to go to kiddush and have a chance to socialize; will we try to make sure we share that amazing story that happened to us this past week or our brilliant insight, or will we step back and listen to the people we are speaking to?
Do we engage with our colleagues and friends because they can help us in some way, or do we engage with an eye towards how we can help them?
Are we waiting for compliments, or do we give them out?
I wonder what our world would look like today if we acted a little bit more like Moshe and Aharon, if our culture promoted silence and service, instead of status? I wonder what our world would look like if we were not admired by how many likes our posts receive but by how many we give out?
We are a culture of Korachs and that’s why the real J and D are up on that presidential stage. A culture of self-centeredness, of attention-seeking, of not being able to make space for others, that is a culture, our parsha makes clear, that gets swallowed up by the ground and self-destructs.
***
It’s July 4th weekend, a time to celebrate the birthday of this great country. It’s a country that rebelled against the idea of a monarch, of a Korach-like leader, and introduced to the world the idea of a leader who was truly a public servant. It’s a country that was born with the words, ‘WE, the people’ – not ‘I,’ but ‘we.’ It’s a country that didn’t ask what the country can do for her, but what she can do for her country. We hope and we pray that the United States of America can reclaim the ideals upon which she was founded.