Parsha Shelach 5765:  Qualities of a Real Jewish Leader.

By Moshe Burt

Prior to the Miraglim setting out on their mission to Eretz Yisrael, Moshe Rabbeinu prayed for Hoshea, that he should gain the strength, conviction and principle to stand against the false testimony of the other spies and to eventually lead B'nei Yisrael.  Moshe blessed him before the mission and changed his name to Yehoshua which conveys the above attributes.

This prayer and blessing of Moshe Rabbeinu to Yehoshua begs the definition of the qualities which make a Real Jewish Leader.

The Sefer L'lmod Ul'lamed (Rabbi Mordechai Katz) on Parsha Shelach (page 138) gives an outline of the qualities which make such a leader.

He lists six major qualities expected of a Leader of Klal Yisrael:

1/ He must be a total believer in Hashem.

2/ He sets a personal example that others will respect and model themselves after.

3/ He has personal attributes of sincerity, affability and concern for others.

4/ He displays humility before Hashem and does not consider himself superior to his fellow man.  He does not consider himself superior to the people he leads.

5/ He possesses firm and unwavering devotion to Hashem.

6/ If Hashem supremacy is challenged, he (the Leader) should react vigorously against challenging Hashem's Laws.

The Sefer continues by quoting gemora Sanhedrin 7b which states; "...a Jewish leader should be strong and dynamic rather than weak and vacillating.  But, at all times, the Jewish leader should not let his position make him haughty.  He should remember that he is but dust and ashes and that in the end his bones will rest in the same soil as do those of all other men."

We learn that Moshe Rabbeinu was the epitome, the paradigm of these attributes and his tefillos were answered when Yehoshua came to possess these attributes as well.

But we live in contemporary times.  Is it possible to find such a leader within modern-day Medinat Yisrael?  Surely NOT in any Memshelet Yisrael that I'm aware of.

But there are Jewish Leaders who I can think of, both living and niftar who possess or possessed these qualities.  There is one such leader, among a number of them, who I will speak of here. 

For the past few weeks, I have read of the arrest, trial hearing and verdict handled down regarding Rav Moshe Levinger (confinement to his Chevron home) who was among those arrested for bocking traffic during the Bayit Leumi "trial run" a few weeks ago. 

A few days short of 8 years ago, I met Rav Levinger for the first time.  Back in 1997, 1 1/2 years before I made Aliyah, it was my great privilege to meet Rav Levinger at a Hachnasat Sefer Torah at Yishuv Sh'vut Rahel where one of his sons was the Mankal (director).  I had no way of knowing in advance that he would be there, that I would meet him or that his son was Makal. 

As we began dancing with the Sefer Torah, I noticed a face, someone I had never before met, but which took me back over 25 years, to when my knowledge of him began when I used to subscribe to the Jerusalem Post International Edition.  Again and again, I saw pictures and reports and background of Rav Levinger and his Gush Emunim followers snaking their way through the Shomron hills as they marched to Elon Moreh.  And then, I was face-to-face with walking, talking history.  The tears welled up within me.

The stories and accounts that I have read through the years are proof conclusive that Rav Levinger was/is among the true pioneers doing the Ratzon Hashem (the Will of Hashem) in bringing the Jews to settle the Land of Israel -- V'Shavu Banim L'gvulam. 

There was/is no equivocation, no vacillation in Rav Moshe Levinger.  And there's no quit in this great man.  His Emunah in HaKadosh Borchu is rock solid, complete and unequivocal as seen in his deeds throughout the decades that I have read, learned and known of him as well as before.  His personal example and attributes should be such a paradigm, an inspiration to all Believing Jews just as Sefer L'lmod Ul'lamed outlines and quotes from Sanhedrin 7b.

In the merit of B’Ezrat Hashem, our collective unity -- “Adat B’nai Yisrael”, our Ahavat Yisrael, our emunah and actions, and the proper motivations for them, may we ALL be zocha to have our Tefillah reach Shemayim, unimpeded, ungarbled. In this merit and in the merit Leaders like Rav Moshe Levinger and other Belief-based and Ratzon Hashem-based Leaders like him, may we be zocha to demand and compel HaKodosh Borchu to do “what he wants to do, to bring us the Moshiach and the Ge’ula Shlaima, “bimhayra v’yameinu” -- speedily, in our time.”

May we see an end to low, dirty politics, political equivocation, perfidy and false cheshbonot; as well as freedom and long life in Eretz Yisrael for Jonathan Pollard and special merit for our brethren currently subject to arrest, police harrassment, political interrogation and political persecution.

IY’H, may it be that come this Rosh Hashanah, we pray thanks to Hashem for the Ge’ula Shlaima and for keeping our Brethren in Gush Katif and in the Shomron in their homes and neighborhoods and away from the horror and Chillul Hashem of expulsion.

May we see the “Yom Hashem Al Kol HaGoyim,” Achshav, Chik Chuk, Miyad, Etmol!!
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Moshe Burt, an Oleh, is a commentator on news and events in Israel and Founder and Director of the Sefer Torah Recycling Network. He lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh.