What it takes to lead

Just when it looks like humanity is at its homogeneous peak we remind ourselves that this is not the case.  What am I referring to? A great gathering of people and the blessing a person makes when seeing them: ‘Blessed are you the wise knower of secrets’.   Why did the Rabbis institute this blessing?

 Probably the largest mass of people I’ve ever witnessed was at a funeral for the great Rosh Yeshiva of the MIrrer and fellow Chicagoan, Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel.  Not only were there people for as far as the eye could see, but the vast majority wore black hats and suits.  Mixed with the awe that there are so many human beings in this world, there is a feeling that no one is special, yourself included- and those hats only exacerbate the problem.  But we make a blessing that reminds us that, yes, we are unique.   Each person contains a deep secret that must be revealed- what looks the same is nothing but that-looks.   Just as we each have a different face, so too we have a different inside.  Not surprisingly, the word for face, פנים, is the same as the words for internality.  Just as we all look different we all churn differently.  In a crowd, however, faces are lost and we forget. 

                While obvious that everyone is different (how often do we get caught in giant crowds?) that does not translate that we will treat people according to their natures.  More likely, we set a standard for how people should be and when that does not happen, we judge and get inpatient.  For that reason, most of us would not make ideal leaders.  When Moses is about to pass on and he prays that a worthy successor be placed in his stead, what does he ask for?  The midrash says that Moses asked for the following: ‘ May the next leader be patient towards each person according to their temperament…’.  That is the ideal of leadership.  The person who deserves the crown is one who sees each strange person, a זר , and realizes that really the person is a זר (different vowels), a crown- just as special and unique as he is. Therefore,he should be treated on his own terms, not yours.