Monthly Archive

May 19, 2012 – Temple Beth El – Charlotte, NC

I have to say, I was honored when Rabbi Judy asked me to deliver today’s D’var Torah (interpretation of a Torah text). Especially in light of who would be in attendance – our Robin Farber leaders, Mitzvah Day captains, high school graduating seniors, and birthright Israel alumni. What an honor, I thought. And then I read the double Torah portion. And read it. And read it again. Oh boy, I thought. What in the world am I going to do with this?

Parashat Behar-Bechukotai finds the Jewish people about to enter Israel for the first time. God stands with Moses at Sinai and dictates the rules for entry. It’s a pivotal moment, and a difficult read, for reasons I will get into in a few minutes.

I decided to focus this d’var Torah on the leadership lessons we could learn from Behar-Bechukotai. Three stood out to me: 1) how and why leaders assert their authority, 2) how and why they set boundaries and lay out consequences, and 3) how and when they show love and support to the people they lead.

As God stands with Moses on Sinai, God knows it’s now or never. The Jewish people are about to enter Israel, which is the equivalent of paradise. If no rules or boundaries or set, it’s likely to become pure chaos.

God starts by re-asserting a sense of authority. It’s interesting that after everything God has done for the Jewish people – brought plagues down on the Egyptians, parted the Red Sea, navigated the desert for 40 years without a GPS and successfully got us to Israel – God STILL feels the need to re-assert authority: I the LORD, am your God. God says it over and again.

My husband, Josh, who’s in leadership development, says, “Executives are often deemed only as good as their most recent win or accomplishment.” The lesson: Mortals’ memories aren’t so hot. Therefore, our leaders continuously need to prove themselves to us so that we don’t forget how good they really are. It’s no different with God.

After asserting authority at Sinai, God gets down to setting boundaries. It reminds me of a discussion I had in graduate school, when I was being taught how to teach writing.

A fellow teacher in training said he didn’t appreciate when teachers gave him too many rules or guidelines. If freedom were a stage, he said, he wanted to fall off it, hard. That’s how he would best learn – or create for himself – where the edge was.

I, on the other hand, wanted to know where the edge was at all times, so that I could avoid falling off the stage. Knowing the limits of my domain was how I felt I could be the best dancer imaginable. If I were always wondering where the edge was, I wouldn’t be able to lose myself in the dance.

This other teacher and I had a difference in opinion on how to handle personal freedom. We differed in how we wanted to be led. And how we wanted to teach others.

At Sinai, I believe God realizes that individuals learn differently. But God’s only got this one shot to talk some sense into the Jewish people before they enter Israel. And, I believe God was trying to prevent us from falling off the proverbial stage.

So, God details harsh rules and consequences, as well as a few rewards. What would be the use, if after we finally entered Israel, we missed out on enjoying paradise because we foolishly partied too much, destroyed the land, or hurt each other?

God says to the Jewish people: “If you follow my laws and faithfully observe My commandments, I will…look with favor upon you and make you fertile and multiply you.” God also says: “But if you do not obey Me and do not observe all these commandments…You shall flee though none pursues”… “You shall eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.”

Yikes. I think God at Sinai is trying to be as harsh on us as he can be, so that we will listen. Yes, these consequences sound over the top as we read them today. But, I try to remember that there are things we too, as parents, teachers and leaders that we say too harshly. Things in hindsight that we wish we could take back or say differently. We don’t really wish to inflict psychological or bodily harm on those who follow us. We just want them to hear us and take us seriously.

At the end of this week’s parashah, we are reminded that God will love us anyway. The punishments God lists in great detail only get harsher if the Jewish people don’t listen the first, second or more times. And in the end, with repentance, we are told we can still win God back. In truth, God stays with us all the time.

To me, this is reminiscent of Maurice Sendek’s Where the Wild Things are. Sendek passed away on May 8th, but his whimsical stories and moody illustrations will leave a legacy for future generations.

The protagonist, Max, in Where the Wild Things Are, is being too mischievous one day, and his mom sends him to bed without dinner. While in his room, he imagines a whole adventure for himself in the land of the Wild Things. After a while though, he is lured back to his bedroom, by the delicious smells of the dinner his mom has made for him. In the end, his mom brings dinner to his room anyway. And it’s still hot when he gets back to it.

Members of and visitors to our congregation, our high school seniors, and current and future leaders of our temple, in light of this week’s double whammy of a Torah portion, I end by asking you to reflect on the type of leader you are, or the one you are going to become. How will you assert your authority? How harsh will you be? And how forgiving? How will you encourage others to use their gifts, their freedoms, their talents? What boundaries will you set for them? Or will you let them fall off the stage for themselves?

Thank you and Shabbat Shalom.