Difficult moments in leadership
During these High Holy Days rabbis across the world take the opportunity to share their words of guidance and provocation, challenge and comfort. We follow in the footsteps of Moses, who this week gives his final poetic speech to the Israelites, sharing the blessings God gave the people and the people’s actions.
The parasha ends with God telling Moses, “You may view the land from a distance, but you shall not enter it- the land that I am giving to the Israelite people”. It is a chilling sentence for Moses, who led the Israelites all the way from Egypt only to not be allowed to enter the Promised Land.
Moses’ hardship parallels our own lives. What are the things in our lives that we never see to their end? Be they projects at work, friendships or even the lives of people we care about. How can we be like Moses, accepting that we may not see all of the fruits of our labor, even as we treasure the journey it has taken to get here?
– Rabbi Avi Fine