Jewish Life #45. Sjemot serie #4: Incomplete Leadership

In this week’s parashah Va’eira, we read in 6:26: ‘That is Aaron and Moses.’ While in this verse Aaron is mentioned before Moses, in other verses, Moses’ name appears before Aaron’s. Rashi suggests that these variations indicate that Moses and Aaron were equal. 
 
Soloveitchik comments: ‘A pattern of dual leadership seems to have prevailed during major periods of Jewish history. It began with Moses and Aaron and is exemplified today by the Rav (Rabbi) and the Chasidic Rebbe.’[1]
 
In modern clinical psychology and theories about leadership this pattern is referring to the theory of ‘incomplete leadership’. ‘It is not good to do it alone’, is its central statement. In the case of Moses and Aaron, Moses was the prototype of the king-teacher and Aaron represented the saint-teacher. The king-teacher addresses to the mind. He engages the intellect, and clarifying the details of the Jewish lifestyle [Halachah] with precision. A saint-teacher focuses his attention, in contrast, upon the invisible, intangible soul of the Torah. He has the inner life of a person in his sight, allowing him to identify with the mysterious heartbeat of the Torah. He communicates with the heart. He creates a society of intense personal piety and subliminal closeness to God. Prayer is his primary emphasis and the emotional represents the yearning of the soul to its origin. Man seeks, Soloveitchik comments, to root himself in his source. The saint-teacher responds to this craving of the human soul. 
 
Both of them [Moses and Aaron], Soloveitchik comments, unlighted minds, molded characters, and propagated the word of God. Both led their communities along righteous paths and made sacrifices for their welfare.[2] Moses was a model for the Rav, Aaron of the Rebbe.  
 
Nevertheless, the methods of Moses and Aaron, their approaches, and the media they employed were different. They were close to each other. Their emphases varied, but they complement each other seamlessly. ‘You cannot do it alone’, says the Torah in Sjemot 18:17. Moses and Aaron were a team. The were able to integrate two distinct leaderships styles. One style cannot exist without the other. 
 
Jewish leadership, as in modern theory of leadership[3], is most effective when it combines the mind and heart in the worship of God. 
 

[1] Quote and inspiration for this blog, thanks to Rav. Soloveitchik, his commentary in Lustiger, A. (2014). Chumash with commentary based on the teachings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. OUPress.
[2] The word ‘sacrifice’ hints at the other key-aspect of leadership; servant leadership. 
[3] In: Kloens, G.J. & Kloens, G.L.E. (2022). Herstellen Doe Je Samen. Mokum (Dutch).

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