Are the political leaders we elect really looking out for their best interests – or their own? It’s a question that, both in Israel and the United States, has never been more relevant. Should we take politicians at their word when they say they are the best – or only – people who could lead their country through the crises it faces, or are there other less benign influences at work?
The question is brought to the fore in this week’s Parsha, Pinchas, where we see the leader Moshe—whose commitment to the people could never be doubted— looking out for the interest of his people, despite the consequences he will face. This follows the unfortunate incident at the end of last week’s parsha – where, through the efforts of the gentile prophet Bila’am – the Jewish people allowed themselves to be seduced by the women of Midian, with a resulting punishment by G-d. It was only the quick thinking of Pinchas, the grandson of Aaron, that an even greater punishment was averted.
And now, G-d bids Moshe to take revenge on the Midianites – after which he will “join his forefathers.” According to the commentators, G-d did not command Moshe to undertake this battle immediately. He could have waited an indefinite amount of time, it seems, and many others in his position would likely have done just that, seeing as how they would not die until it was completed. Not Moshe, though. With typical alacrity he immediately assembled an army to fulfill G-d’s command, even though he would now leave this world. For this, the sages praise him; he refused to procrastinate, even though it meant he would die sooner.
Here Moshe demonstrates his loyalty to G-d, and the Jewish people – sacrificing himself in order to fulfill what G-d asks for, and what the people need to set their relationship with G-d right. This should be the model for all political leaders – but many fall short. One who did learn this lesson was US President Joe Biden, who announced last weekend that he would not seek his party’ nomination at the upcoming Democratic Convention, saying in a statement that it was “in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down.” Although he didn’t say so directly, it was clear that the concerns over his continued health were a primary issue.
In Israel, meanwhile, the question of the leaders’ interests is at the forefront of political discussion, as Israel moves toward the tenth month of its war against Hamas. Israel seems to be in a holding pattern, failing to either strike the decisive blow against Hamas , or negotiating a settlement that will bring a ceasefire, and the return of our hostages. Is it because the issues in fighting this war are so complicated? Would greater determination against Hamas just prompt the terror group to inflict more harm on our hostages? Or is the refusal to end it one way or another, as the opposition claims, the result of a narrow political interest?
Parshat Pinchas reminds us that leaders can – and must – put their nations’ interests above their own. Who more than Moshe would have wanted to remain alive longer, to see his project of Jewish redemption through? Who more than Moshe deserved to have that opportunity? Yet he gave it all up – and in the process showed us what a true leader really is.
Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt is a Swiss-born rabbi and Jewish community leader. He was the Chief Rabbi of Moscow, Russia from 1993 until 2022, serving at the Moscow Choral Synagogue. From 2011, Goldschmidt has served as president of the Conference of European Rabbis (CER), which unites over seven hundred communal rabbis from Dublin, Ireland to Khabarovsk, in the Russian Far East.
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