Where'd Ya Go, Mo?

Leadership Transmission

A conductor of an orchestra doesn’t make a sound. That was the revelation that struck Benjamin Zander, the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic twenty years into his career:

A conductor depends, for his power, on his ability to make other people powerful. I realized my job was to awaken possibility in other people.

How do you find out, he was asked.

You look at their eyes. If their eyes are shining, you know you're doing it. If the eyes are not shining, you get to ask a question: who am I being that my players' eyes are not shining?

This excerpt is from a Ted Talk with Zander that I first heard around eight years ago that I think about constantly. It’s worth a watch. In part, it’s because Zander is a deeply engaging speaker. I don’t normally listen to twenty minute talks about the power of classical music. But the other part that’s resonant is embedded in his lesson on conductors and its connection to leadership. Namely, the most powerful leaders are the ones who don’t have to loudly announce their power but whose leadership can be seen in the eyes of those with whom they work.

That is a lesson that we also glean in this week’s portion, Tetzaveh. In this section of the Torah that we have been reading, Moses has been front and center. He’s led the people out of Egypt, helped them establish their burgeoning peoplehood, and steered the construction of innovative ways of worship. Yet in this week’s portion, his name is absent. He seems to be alluded to but never mentioned explicitly, which is peculiar. After all, he’s the star of the show.

There are a few different theories that are offered that seem plausible but my favorite comes from the Alshich Ha’Kadosh¹, one of the great luminaries of the mystical world of Jewish commentary. He reads a dialogue into the text based on Moses’ sadness and jealousy at his lack of mentioning, a deeply relatable human experience. Who among us hasn’t felt a potential slight when we’ve been omitted from a situation, especially one we’ve worked hard to cultivate? Here are the Alshich’s words:

What is this that the Lord has done to me,'as I have no portion in this great thing!’ Would it not be even more, since he was supposed to be the priest in the future and Aaron be the Levite, but the matter was changed during his [receiving] his mission to Egypt. Hence God came to speak to his heart and to comfort him. And God said, ‘Do not be concerned, since your portion is greater than all of them. For does not the perfection of them all come through you? For it is through that which 'you command' the Children of Israel with all of the commandments.'

The Alshich understands that the content of the instruction this week, the work of the priests would be especially triggering for Moses who was supposed to fulfill that role originally but ends up getting it taken from him and given to his brother. The acute pain of that strikes him in this moment. But the Divine voice enters Moses’ heart to offer comfort. Moses is told, you are about to pass the instruction on to the priests regarding the lighting of the permanent lamps. From here on out you will have kickstarted a process that will resound forever.

That is the legacy of Moses, the one who lays the path of illumination for the next generation of leaders. We all get saddened at these moments of the passing of the baton in which we have taken such central roles. But if we have done leadership right, we remember that their lasting gifts that are impactful far beyond the main roles we once held. Allowing others the opportunity to shine is just as, if not more valuable.

That is the relatable human lesson here. It’s not that Moses in all of his glory has rid himself of jealousy. He’s just like us. The reminder though is what to do with it. Sometimes we need a mirror put in front of us. Look at what you have done. You have lit a flame in someone else so that they can light a flame in someone else and so on for all the generations. Right now, we are still inheritors of this flame.

That is what it means to lead. At some point, the central role shifts to something and someone else. Figuring out how to make that space is the work. Moses is a paragon of humility and courage in so many other forms. Here he shows us how to work with our less-than-desirable traits to help others find their own light. Where’d ya go, Mo?

You were right there all along.

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Weekend

1. Moshe Alshich, Kabbalist, Israel, 16th and 17th centuries, Tzfat, Israel.