In this week’s Torah portion, Pinchas, we learn of the transfer
of power from Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher) to Yehoshuah (Joshua). Moshe has just been informed by Hashem that
he will soon pass away. In a humble and
selfless response, Moshe asks Hashem to be sure the people will have another
leader in his absence:
And Moshe spoke to Hashem, saying: “Let Hashem, the G-d of the spirits of all
flesh, set a man over the congregation, who may go out before them, and who may
go in before them, and who may lead them out, and who may bring them in; that
the congregation of Hashem be not as sheep which have no shepherd.” And Hashem said to Moses, “Take Yehoshuah the
son of Nun, a man of spirit, and lay your hand upon him.” (Bamidbar 27: 15-18)
I found the way that Moshe referred to Hashem (the G-d of
the spirits of all flesh) to be puzzling.
Why does Moshe refer to “spirits” rather than just say “the G-d of all
flesh?” Furthermore, why does Moshe
mention G-d’s sovereignty over all human kind at this particular moment? Moshe could have referred to G-d as “Creator”
or “Eternal” or any number of other platitudes.
This odd turn of phrase “the G-d of the spirits of all flesh” is
mentioned in the midrash.
Jewish law: If a person sees great multitudes of people
he should say: “Blessed are You, Hashem our G-d, Sovereign of the Universe, who
knows their innermost secrets.” For, as their faces are not like each other, so
are their temperaments not like each other, every individual having a
temperament of his own. . . .There is
proof that this is the case [that every individual has a temperament of his
own] from the request which Moshe made of the Holy One of Blessing, in the hour
of his death. He says: “Sovereign of the Universe! The mind of every individual
is revealed and known to You. The minds of Your children are not like one
another. Now that I am taking leave of
them, appoint over them, I pray You, a leader who shall bear with each one of
them as his temperament requires”; [The
fact that this is what Moshe requested] may be inferred from the fact that it [the
Torah] says, “Let Hashem, the G-d of the spirits of all flesh appoint…”; it
does not say the spirit [in the singular] but the spirits [in the plural]. (Bamidbar Rabbah)
For those who are interested in the bit of halacha (law) we
learn at the beginning of this midrash, the bracha (blessing) mentioned is
indeed the bracha that we are to say if we see 600,000 Jews together, which is
a very rare occurrence. The bracha itself is quite interesting—we are
expressing our awe at the fact that G-d can know the true nature, or the “secrets”
of each person, even though there are so many people. This midrash is using the term “secrets” to
refer to an individual’s temperament, and makes the case that each individual
is unique. In this sense, the midrash is
reminding us that G-d cares for each of us as an individual. This is easy for G-d who is able to look at
600,000 people and see the true nature of each.
But what about us?
When we walk into a room with even 50 people—with even 20 people—we really
do not know a thing about each person’s temperament. We tend to think that others do—or should—feel
the way we do about any number of things, whether it be what to do that evening
for fun, or whether a comment someone made was hurtful or perfectly
justified. We generally have trouble
seeing things from other peoples’ perspectives if they are quite different from
us. When others differ from us it is important
that we try to emulate G-d—just as G-d cares for each of us as an individual,
so should we also try to care for one another in this way. We have to tolerate (to the best of our
ability) the differences between us, and even cultivate compassion for people
who we can’t really understand.
Moshe clearly knew that as a leader, caring for each person
as an individual was crucial. He was
able to do this, and he cared so much about bnai Yisrael (the children of
Israel), that he begged G-d to appoint a new leader with that very
quality. He could have asked G-d to send
a leader who was just, compassionate, fair, patient, or any other number of
qualities. The fact that (according to
this midrash) he asked HaShem for one who would understand and care for each
person based on their individuality is quite remarkable. Almost all of us are leaders in one way or
another—even if it is just as a leader in our family, a leader for our
children. As we welcome Shabbat, I
invite you join me in reflecting on how we can better lead and relate to
everyone around us by cultivating understanding and compassion. Shabbat Shalom.
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