Shabbat Parashat Balak
July 7th2012
Tmuz 16th 5772
Shalom,
I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July holiday. Let me wish a special happy birthday to Rabbi Walk whose birthday coincides with American Independence Day.
On Monday, Israel said goodbye to its seventh prime minister and one of its greatest leaders, Yitzchak Shamir, who died on Shabbat at the age of 96.
Prime Minister Netanyahu, in an eloquent eulogy, described Shamir as follows: "He did not seek popularity or honor. Every act and decision he made had to stand up to one test: whether it is good for the Jewish people and the land of Israel." Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin praised late Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir on Monday. "You were a stable, unbreakable rock. You have carried the weight of this nation, its past and future, on your shoulders."
Shamir reminds me of a rare type of leader, one who is completely devoted to his vision, for the purpose for which he has assumed a special role; he was totally immersed in his calling.
Shamir died while we were reading chapter 20 of last week's parasha, where we read about thefamous "sin" that Moshe Rabeinu had committed. In summary, the Jews had no water to drink, they complained bitterly, God told Moshe to talk to the rock, but Moshe hit the rock instead. Moshe is told by God that because of that sin he will not be permitted to enter the Promised
Land.
The commentators struggled with the many difficulties in this story, such as the disproportion
between the "sin" and the punishment. They ask why God even "cared" that Moshe hit the rock, rather than speaking to it, and so on. What is interesting is the fact that Moshe, even at the end of his life, in his final speech, never admitted that he actually sinned. Numerous times throughout the Torah, Moshe repeated the claim that he was being punished for the sins of the nation.
Professor Yeshayahu Leibowitz, z"l, explains that indeed Moshe did nothing wrong and the punishment was given to him only because he was the leader of the nation. Since the nation was not worthy of entering the land, therefore the leader was also destined to die in the desert.
It is like the concept that the captain of a sinking ship would be the last on the life boat, unless he goes down with the ship! A true leader is judged and measured by the behavior of the people whom he leads.
On this day when we celebrate the independence of a country, one cannot help but think of its leaders as well.
Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem,
Cantor Arik Wollheim
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