Charles P. Sherman
Michael Blendowski Bar Mitzvah
Shabbat Yitro
January 25, 2003
Be Practical and Get Help
Ours is an age of consultants. Contemporary life abounds with vocational counselors, financial consultants, marriage counselors, efficiency experts, consumer advocates, etc. Many of us seek out the wisdom of these mentors at one time or another.
I believe that the very first consultant in recorded history was Moses' father-in-law, Jethro. At the beginning of this week's Torah portion we read that after the Israelites had left Egypt and crossed the Reed Sea, Jethro came to pay his respects. Moses told him the breathtaking story of all that had happened since they last met. Jethro warmly congratulated Moses and the Children of Israel on their phenomenal victory over Pharaoh.
The next day, Jethro went out to see how his son-in-law was faring as the leader of such a large camp. What he witnessed did not please him. Jethro, you remember, was an experienced leader himself - the Priest of Midian. What he witnessed was Moses sitting alone, single-handedly trying to dispense justice to the entire people. Our text says: "Moses sat as magistrate among the people, while the people stood about Moses from morning to evening." (Exodus 18:13)
Jethro said: "What are you doing? Why do you act alone while all the people are standing about you from morning until evening?"
And Moses replied: "It is because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a dispute, it comes before me, and I decide between a man and his neighbor and I make known the laws and teachings of God."
Convinced that there was something radically wrong in that procedure and with deep concern for his son-in-law, Jethro cautioned navol tibol. The root of these two words - nun bet lamed - is usually found only in the context of foliage and plant life. Rashi, the great biblical commentator, tells us this means - "you, Moses, will wither; you will drop off like a dead leaf." It is a warning of what will occur to Moses if he does not surrender some of the burden he has accepted upon himself.
Jethro's advice is like that of a modern doctor warning a workaholic - you'll burn out if you don't listen to me and follow what I say. Do not let the pressures of this world get to you; do not make the work you have to do all that much more onerous.
Our text clearly speaks to us of the dangers of taking on too much. If we overdo it, then we will be like a leaf which loses its color, becomes riven with holes, withers and eventually drops to the ground, dead.
The biblical scene was not entirely surprising when you consider that Moses was a product of the Egyptian court. He had little regard for the self-governing capacity of these just recently released slaves. Moses was intent on doing all the governing for them. He was like a benevolent wilderness Pharaoh, because that was the model with which Moses was most familiar. And this is where the experienced, older leader assumed the prerogative of a father-in-law and advised Moses that one person, no matter how gifted or inspired, could not possibly take upon his shoulders the task of judging so many people.
There are two principle features to Jethro's advice. One was that Moses relieve himself of much of his physical burden, his personal involvement; he has to lighten his workload and arrange his affairs so that things would be more tolerable for him. Judaism has always been concerned with the physical well-being of people. Deuteronomy 4:9 says: "Take you, therefore, good heed of yourselves; take utmost care and watch yourself." A Medieval text, speaking of people who want to do it all by themselves, says: "He who sits alone is worn out quickly." An internationally famous manpower expert in our generation comments that our nation is not suffering from a shortage of talent, but rather from a shortage of talented people who know how to protect their time. So Jethro is worried about his son-in-law's physical, mental, emotional health and stamina.
Secondly, he offers a constructive plan to remedy and improve the dispensation of justice. He says: "Provide out of all the people captains;" in other words, delegate authority. The small matters are to be judged by the captains; only the more important disputes would be brought to Moses. Moses is like a Court of Appeals or even the Supreme Court. But let the people first bring their minor disputes to the lower level of courts - chiefs of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. With such decentralization, Moses would be able to reserve his energies for only the most important cases. Jethro's lesson for Moses was that by adding manpower and sharing responsibility, Moses could build and serve better.
Jethro recommended to Moses four qualifications for these captains or chiefs or lower court magistrates. Now let's ignore the sexism; that all of these people were to be men is simply a reflection of those times. Thank God, today we do not exclude half the talent pool. So what are Jethro's four qualifications?
One - Capable men - Anshay-chayil. People who had the ability, interest and enthusiasm to fight for their ideals, who would speak when others preferred to remain silent.
Two - God-fearing men - Yiray Elohim. We would use the word "reverent" today. People who would heed the voice of conscience and not expediency, who would be more concerned with the fear of God than anything with which humans might threaten them.
Three - Men of truth - Anshay Emet. People who are worthy for one to rely on their words; they command confidence.
Fourth and finally - Men who hate unjust gain - Sonay Vatsa. These are people who are incorruptible, always above the suspicion of bribery.
If you think about it, these are not bad qualities for this kind of hierarchy of officials, similar to the organization of an army - capable, reverent, truthful and just individuals.
Now if we utilize the numbers in our Torah text to implement Jethro's plan, Moses would have had to appoint more than 78,000 officials of various degrees. That is a lot of appointments and finding 78,000+ people who had all four of these qualities turns out to have been impossible because, as Michael read to us, Moses heeded his father-in-law and did just as he said: "Moses chose capable men out of all Israel and appointed them heads of the people, chiefs of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens and they judged the people at all times. The difficult matters they would bring to Moses and all the minor matters they would decide themselves." (18:24-27)
"Capable men" - what happened to the other three qualities enumerated by Jethro? Why did Moses drastically reduce the high standards which his father-in-law had initially proposed?
Reading between the lines, it appears that when the ideal qualifications enumerated by Jethro were subjected to practical application, they proved to be unrealistic. Moses was unable to find thousands of men who could meet these standards.
I believe that Exodus 18 is an important chapter of the Torah because it brings home the lesson that there are times when we must be prepared to distinguish between the ideal and the practical. Moses began with a search for perfect people, but human beings are not perfect. Alexander Pope put it well when he wrote: "Whoever thinks a faultless piece to see, thinks what ne'er, nor is, nor e'er shall be."
Moses himself, the unparalleled giant of Judaism, personified the implications of Alexander Pope's truth. According to biblical accounts, Moses was "the most humble of all people on the face of the earth." Moses was the great emancipator and law-giver. He could be compassionate, sympathetic and understanding. His love for and dedication to the welfare of his people knew no bounds. The beautiful obituary at the end of Deuteronomy says: "There has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses."
And yet Moses himself was not without imperfections. This chapter which Michael read to us begins with Moses hurrying out to greet his father-in-law and kissing him and immediately sharing with him all which had transpired since they last met. That sounds nice; but, Jethro was bringing Moses' wife and sons back to him, and not a single word is recounted regarding the reunion of Moses and his family.
My friends, I think this is a sad chapter in the life of Moses. He was so absorbed in leading his people, that he neglected the faith and fate of his very own family. While he toiled to free the Children of Israel from Egyptian bondage, he left his immediate family back in Midian; while he prepared the Children of Israel to receive the Ten Commandments, he left his sons in charge of their grandfather.
I'm afraid that this chapter is a very graphic reminder that sometimes the most dedicated and revered leaders become so engrossed in communal affairs, or in their businesses, that they neglect the welfare and future of their marriages and their children. That happened to Moses; it happened to Samuel. It happened many centuries later to Moses Mendelssohn and to Theodor Herzl. Alas, some great leaders think they have to do it all themselves and pay too heavy a price for the ideals they champion.
In setting up a de-centralized judiciary, in trying to find 78,000+ people to share responsibility with, Moses came to realize that he had to deal with what was available. He had no choice but to reduce the four original qualifications for judges to one, and he settled for Anshay Chayil - capable men. It was better to have imperfect people than no help at all. And you know what? The system worked even with the less-that-ideal personnel.
Consultant Jethro offered an important lesson in delegating and sharing responsibility for all of us perfectionists and workaholics to learn. May the practical experience of Moses teach us to accept the capable rather than pursue the perfect and remind us to prioritize our time and energy so as to put family first. Amen
In preparing this message I have benefitted from the writings of Rabbi Louis J. Swichkow.
