The Leader-as-Teacher

“In Devarim, Moses gave the people their Why. They are God’s people, the nation on whom He has set his love, the people He rescued from slavery and gave, in the form of the commandments, the constitution of liberty. They may be small but they are unique. They are the people who, in themselves, testify to something beyond themselves. They are the people whose fate will defy the normal laws of history. Other nations, says Moses, will recognise the miraculous nature of the Jewish story – and so, from Blaise Pascal to Nikolai Berdyaev and beyond, they did. In the last month of his life Moses ceased to be the liberator, the miracle-worker and redeemer, and became instead Moshe Rabbeinu, “Moses, our teacher.” He was the first instance in history of a leadership type in which Jews have excelled: the leader-as-teacher.”

The Leader as Teacher (Devarim, Lessons in Leadership, Covenant & Conversation)