What We Can Learn about Good Leadership

In today’s parasha, chukkat, there are two significant deaths.  Both Miriam and Aaron die, removing two-thirds of the leadership that the Israelites had depended upon since leaving Egypt. 

 

Before we look at Miriam’s death, what do you know about her and the role she played in guiding the Israelites?

(After discussion)

1)    She preserved her brother Moshe when he was placed in the basket on the Nile by following him along the course of the river and finding a nurse maid for him, thus making it possible for Moshe to live, thrive, and eventually serve G-d by leading the Israelites out of Egypt

.2)    At the Sea of Reeds she led the women in song and joyous dance with her timbrel, buoying their spirits after the water closed over the Egyptians.

3)    If you analyze her name  it contains the letters for Mayim (water) in it Mem/Yud/Memsofi.  It also has the word ROM in it which means elevated.

4)    She is credited with having been granted a well that followed the Israelites in the wilderness. It was the source of life and refreshment for the Israelites, given on the merit of her deeds.

Let’s take a look at a description of Miriam’s death (Numbers,chapter 20: 1-5)

Does anything strike you as being missing?  Notice that the people did not mourn her death…they merely start grumbling?  Why?  How is the grumbling about being thirsty related to her death? 

Now let’s look at a description of Aaron’s death (Numbers,chapter 20:24-29) How does it differ from the description we read about Miriam’s death?    Why do you think the Torah describes the fact that people mourned Aaron?  According to Rashi, when it says “The entire assembly saw that Aaron had perished,” it really was referring to the fact that when Aaron died, the clouds of glory that sheltered them during the day, covering the Mishkan, departed and as a result the entire assembly was seen (became more vulnerable).  Just as Miriam was known for bringing water to the wanderers, Aaron was known for bringing the cloud that guided them during the day (sheltering them from the harshness of the wilderness). 

Of course we know that in this parasha, Moshe’s fate is also sealed because he strikes the rock instead of talking to it to bring forth water.  As a result he is told that he will die before entering the land and when that section of Torah occurs in Deuteronomy we see that he was mourned just as his brother was mourned. 

 Rabbi Michael Hattin, with whom I studied at the Pardes Institute, wrote in his commentary about Chukkat: “Rabbi Yose bar Yehuda says: The people of Israel had three excellent leaders – Moshe, Aharon and Miriam.  Three good gifts were extended to the people of Israel on their behalf – the well, the clouds, and the manna.  The well was provided due to the merit of Miriam, the clouds of glory because of Aharon, and the manna on account of Moshe.  When Miriam died, the well disappeared, as it says: "The people of Israel, all of the congregation, came to the wilderness of Zin, and the people dwelt in Kadesh.  Miriam died there and there she was buried."  Immediately afterwards, the text states: "The congregation had no water, and they gathered against Moshe and Aharon…"  When Aharon died, the clouds of glory disappeared…when Moshe died, all three were gone… (Talmud Bavli, Tractate Ta'anit 9a).

The well, clouds, and manna represented the three essential items that the people needed for their survival; water, shelter, and food and they became the symbols of the combined leadership of Moshe, Aharon, and Miriam. G-d responded to these leaders even when the people angered him.  G-d allowed the nation to survive even though it was decreed that the older generation would die out prior to entering the land.  Each of the siblings, Miriam, Aaron, and Moshe was totally devoted to ensuring that he or she worked on behalf of their people while serving G-d.  Each worried less about his/her own well-being than about the continued survival of their people.  They had a goal in mind and pursued it hoping for a brighter future, even though they were not to be part of that future.  Perhaps that is the key to Jewish survival.  One must always pursue a goal of developing a faithful community even beyond the time of one’s own existence; caring more about the well-being of the group than about one’s own glory!

In the words of my teacher, “Like all great leaders, then, Miriam, Aharon and Moshe were condemned to pass from the scene before the destination was reached, in order to drive home the point that the best of them labor for their people and care little about their own personal attainments.  Whether or not these three figures reached the Promised Land did not concern them nearly as much as whether the people of Israel would one day reach it.  And with that spirit of loyal service, they did their quiet work even as the people sorely tried their patience and stamina.  May Israel merit having leaders of their caliber to guide them.”