It Starts with Our Leaders

“Moses spoke to the heads of the Israelite tribes.” (Numbers 30)

This is an unusual formulation. In most instances the Torah states, “Moses spoke to the people.” (Numbers 31) Why does Moses speak to the tribal heads rather than the people?

Perhaps the answer can be discerned in this portion’s details about making vows. The Hatam Sofer, a leading rabbi in nineteenth century Germany, asks this very same question. He suggests the law is directed to leaders because people in public office are often tempted to make promises that they cannot keep. It is as if to say, “Be on guard of the words and promises you make—most especially if you are a leader.”

In a few weeks we will mark Tisha B’Av, the day in which we commemorate the destruction of Jerusalem’s Temple. Until the modern period and its Holocaust, this fast day marked the Jewish people’s greatest tragedy. The loss of the Temple, the destruction of Jerusalem and the slaughter of so many Jews is still remembered at Jewish weddings by the breaking of the glass.

The rabbis asked why this tragedy happened to us. It was of course the Romans, and prior to that the Babylonians, who destroyed the first and second Temples. Still the rabbis engaged in wrenching introspection to uncover how the Jewish people might be at fault for their own demise. They suggest that it was because of baseless hatred of one Jew for another. The seeds of our destruction were sown by how we screamed and yelled at each other.

The rabbis believed in argument and especially passionate debate. They taught that truth can only emerge when we openly argue and debate with one another. We read: “Any debate that is for the sake of heaven, its end will continue; but that which is not for the sake of heaven, its end will not continue. What is a debate for the sake of heaven? The debate between Rabbis Hillel and Shammai. And a debate that is not for the sake of heaven? The debate of Korah and his entire band of rebels.” (Avot 5)

There is a fine line between a positive and negative argument. It rests in how we approach those with whom we disagree. The rabbis offer us an important insight. While we might be strengthened by debate, we are weakened by tribal divisions. When we debate, we must ask, are we arguing so that truth might emerge? Or are we arguing instead to draw divisions between us?

This is why Moses speaks to the tribal heads.

Our nation is a confederation of different tribes and disparate identities. Our destruction is sown when we see our own tribal identity as the whole.

Our very survival depends on how our leaders argue and debate. It rests on how leaders speak to one another. It is secured in seeing beyond a single tribe.