“Choose wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.”
This command from Moshe to the Jewish people in Devarim 1:13 is different than Yisro’s suggestion to Moshe in Shemos 18:21: “Select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness.”
Rav Hirsch observes that Yisro stresses good character while Moshe, in speaking to the Jewish people, stresses wisdom. He suggests that Moshe was reflecting the Jewish people’s priorities and that he, too, believed that good character is the most important quality in a judge. Rav Hirsch writes:
“[I]n the opinion of Moshe and Yisro, excellence of character, fearing God, loving truth, hating self-interest are necessary to a much higher degree for giving correct judgments than depth of learning and sharpness of mind. But public opinion looks above all for a learned and clever man to be a judge.”
I found these words timely because many people today, indeed, respect wisdom at the expense of character. They esteem the articulate politician, or the editor of the New York Times, or the chaired professor at Harvard because, in terms of raw intelligence and sophistication, these people are in fact impressive.
And yet, these very same people are driving Western civilization into the ground. How is that possible? Because, at the end of the day, what matters most is character: humility, honesty, holiness. A farmer from Oklahoma may not look or sound impressive, but if he believes in G-d and country and is humble and honest, he is better suited to run a country than a dishonest, amoral secularist, no matter how smart the latter may be.
Naturally, we want intelligent leaders, but more important than having intelligent leaders is having leaders who “fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness.” Even when it comes to rendering justice – for which you would think a high IQ is essential – good character is primary.
Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888) – head of the Jewish community in Frankfurt, Germany for over 35 years – was a prolific writer whose ideas, passion, and brilliance helped save German Jewry from the onslaught of modernity.
Elliot Resnick, PhD, is the host of “The Elliot Resnick Show” and the editor of an upcoming work on etymological explanations in Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch’s commentary on Chumash.
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