Guest Speaker: Rabbi Paul Saal
Transcript(from the video captions)
It's such a great honor and a pleasure to be here with you today. I've got a lot of history with individuals in this congregation as well as the congregation itself. Um lots of friends here, people who formally, like Sarah Schatz, who were at Shuvah Israel for years, and her husband Corey, um Jamie Eaton, who I knew since she was like this big. Um uh lots of old friends here, good friends going back to and lots of new friends who I'm glad to meet, but I don't know how many years ago it was, but I probably there is nobody who's here that were members and knows us that I was the planter chair of the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations when Sha'arei got started. And uh Rabbi Jason Sobel uh was here. And um by the way, I take absolutely no credit for that. I didn't think this congregation could make it. No, I we actually knew that uh along with Rabbi Silverman and Rabbi Tony Eaton, of blessed memory, who were on the committee, that this was going to be a great start despite us, because there was great leadership here, and it wasn't just the Sobels, but of course um the Claymans, and this was off to a
great start, meeting in uh the fellowship hall of a Baptist church. And if you could and there are a few people here, of course, like uh Mike Kaufman, who were there for some of the timeline. It wasn't always smooth, was it? You know, this this is the the the nature of beginnings, even good beginnings. They wind up having rough roads and rocky roads along the way. But when God is in it, it'll happen. And this is kind of what I think we need to draw from this story of the Korach revolution. It is not the sum total, even though it lives in our memory, we read it every year, we talk about it, it is not a warning against revolution cuz after all we're Americans, that's what we do, we protest. And if you read the Bible carefully enough, you realize the Bible is a book of a protest. Abraham says, "Won't the judge of all the earth judge righteously?" God allows for protest. But he wants us to listen to his response and to hear from him. The story of Korach's rebellion against Moses is actually a story, as Rabbi Lerman pointed out, of a a rebellion against God. It's one of the most dramatic crises of leadership in
all of Torah. It's not simply a political challenge, it's a spiritual mutiny. Korach and his followers rise up with an argument which we've heard now several times, "All the congregation are holy." It sounds approximately right, and yet it is flawed not in word, but in intention, in the kavana, it In other words, what he's saying, "Why should Moses stand above anyone else?" And the flaw in this is that Moses did not seek ever to stand above. In fact, Moses did everything approximately that one could do to avoid that calling. The In fact, the uh the life of Moses that has been said to be divided into three equal 40-year sections. The first one, Moses found out, thought he was somebody. He was a youthful 40 who thought that everything in his life was just going right, and he was the prince of Egypt, and everything was going well. I know cuz I saw the movie. And then the second 40 years of his life, he found himself, you know, at a at a crossroads and midlife crisis. And at at the gentle age of 80, he comes upon a burning bush and there he realizes that um his life has come to nothing. But then in the third part of his life,
Moses discovers what God can do with somebody who thinks that they're nobody. When we embrace humility, when we reject hubris, when we're willing to recognize that God needs to be in every embrace the keva and the kavanah of our tradition, but brought it new and fresh, the room was brought to a state of intimacy. And I think that there's something amazing about that. I think we live in an age where people want everything to be supercharged and ministry to be just, you know, on fire all the time. That doesn't last. What lasts is deep sense of intimacy with God experienced through the intimacy of one another. So, the answer's not found in slogans, but in substance. Korach speaks the language of equality, but he seeks elevation. Moses, by contrast, never sought the role he carries. He rather embodies a different kind of authority altogether. That's one that is rooted in self in not in self-assertion, but in obedience, humility, and in responsibility before God. So, what Korach sees is seizes, Moses instead receives. What Korach demands, Moses discerns. What Korach grasps for himself, Moses carries for the sake of
others. So, this morning I want to explore a little something a little bit thing different, and that's a distinction through the lens of wisdom, specifically through hochma. What is it that we can learn? What is we can learn about being the leaders that God wants us to be, no matter where we are and what our situation. You know, maybe you find that you're you know, you're the the father of 10 kids, 11. Are we are we By the way, I'm hoping I could be back next year for the anniversary for your second year anniversary and the birth of another child. It's this there's a gifting in being prolific. And so we realize that if we grow in the wisdom that God gives us and if you hear this afternoon, I'm going to be talking about the distinction of Da'at of understanding how it needs Binah insight, but it also it needs to start with Hokhma with the skills of living. And so, I want to take a look at the book of Mishlei at Proverbs. Now, Proverbs uses the example of a king as the ultimate leader and peppered throughout the book of Proverbs and by the way, don't ever try and order the book of Proverbs. It is I'm absolutely convinced
the book was redacted by somebody with ADHD. It is all over the place. You can only order it when you're looking for thematically added, but in the book of Mishlei, we find that there are these proverbs of a king. Now, obviously, I can't hit all of these, but I just wanted to pick a few that match up with the story of the Korah rebellion and see what wisdom we can derive from that. First, a theme throughout Mishlei is that true leaders are fair. We're told that they have a balance of scales. A divine decision is an ellipse of the king. His mouth must not transgress in judgment. In light of the king's face is life. This Proverbs 16:10 and 15. Moses understood that leadership demands more than just mere reaction. It demands clear discernment. The temptation in a moment like this might have been paralysis. Moses could have postponed and put it off. He could have kicked the can down the road. He could have consulted and every opinion before acting. And when that time is upon us and when you it needs to happen when that moment there is no more room for movement. Something has to happen. It's a time for
counsel, but there's also a time for courage. A good leader knows the difference. Um not so well for Korah. That's what it means. Proverbs 14 says the wisest of women builds her house, but folly tears it down with her own hands. It's really interesting that in this particular case uh it is a woman who saves the life of her husband and her family. You might have passed right by it, but there is a name. It's not On, but Own in the in the openings of this passage who is appears to be part of the rebellion. He's the son of Peleth. But whatever happens to Own ben Peleth? Our tradition speaks where there is silence in the Torah portion. In the Babylonian Talmud, we're told that Own's wife, Mrs. Own, said to him, "What difference is it to you if Moses is master, you are a disciple. If Korach is master, you're still a disciple." And then On disappears. Which leads us to that famous song about him, "On is the loneliest number." And by the way, I am going to sneak in a few more a little more dad rock, but in this particular moment, she names the truth that Korach avoids. Which later is Peter Hound Peter Townshend
um frames when he wrote um uh you we won't get fooled again, where he basically said, "Say hello to the new boss, same as the old boss." There is something about holiness. If God is not your boss, you don't have a real boss. You're the boss universal. And if you think you know everything that God is going to do, let me just just assure you, you've made yourself the boss. We do not get to define God as though he is some house pet that we can domesticate. We need to be able to be silent, careful, fair, and listen. The symmetry again betwixt those, but one stands between them. Means where Korach stands, carried by grievance and mo- -mentum. Yet unlike Ko- Korach, Moses listens. He steps back. He refuses to consent. If Korach represents the failure of leadership, On on the other hand, represents the possibility of redemption within it. Sometimes, the disappearance and the silence is the strongest voice we can have. Because sometimes when we remain silent, when it's time to speak, our voice is heard. The difference between Korach and On is not intelligence or status, but which voice we heed.
Korah listens to a voice that feeds ambition and destroys it. All listens to a voice that strips ambition away and saves it. Leadership at its most basic level begins with the discipline of knowing which voice or voices we can trust. Now, true leaders are going to seek wisdom at all times. This is my favorite proverb. It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings to search out a matter. As the heavens for height and the earth for depths, the heart of kings are unsearchable. You're never going to fully know God. If you If you've used to making speeches like, "Well, my God," that's exactly what it is. It's your God. You might as well have an idol standing in the middle of your living room. We do not get to define God. We only get to know him so much. He to some degree is unsearchable. Rabbi Shaul said, "Now we see dimly, then we'll see fully." there is to know, but we learn through living life and learning through our mistakes, learning through our not learning through our failures and learning as well through our successes. And then we move on and we try to take counsel with others. We try to do the
very best that we can and we try to learn and understand and discern what is the will of God, recognizing we're going to sometimes miss. Moses never claimed the role of leader. He was chosen. And maybe that's why he carries it with him so faithfully. He wears leadership. He didn't strive to be a king. He was summoned to be a servant. And he never forgot that. When a rebellion raged, when the people doubted him, and even God threatened his destruction, Moses didn't collapse. He knew who had placed him there. Without in that assurance, leadership becomes unbearable. And with it, even the heaviest burden can be carried. Moses sought God's wisdom continually, not as a strategy, but as a lifeline. In doing so, he embodies the highest vision of Proverbs. It's not self-reliance, but divine dependence. I don't know where we got to a place where it's became a badge of honor to to never say we're wrong. But the greatest thing we can do, and the way we can lead with confidence, is to be be able to admit we make mistakes, own our mistakes, and take the heat that comes with it. And with it, I believe, comes the
applause of Hashem himself. Moses always seeks God's wisdom. And that's what makes the difference. The last thing I'd like to add is from the 31st proverb. You're probably mostly all familiar with it for the Eshet Chayil, with the woman of valor. Where the woman of valor is, my daughter Rachel always likes to say, it just points out that women throughout history have always taken care of the home, taken care of the crops, taken care of the family business, taken care of all of the kids, taken care of their husbands, taken care of their village, and then men went out and looked for something to kill.
But, before we have the description of the woman of valor we have the words of a woman of valor. But the part of the proverb that most people don't know exists is the words of King Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him. So who's King Lemuel? Because in the annals of Torah and and the Tanakh, there are there's no record of a King Lemuel. Well, the sages believe that Lemuel is sort of a a a thinly veiled um uh pseudonym for Solomon. Because after all, the attribution of Proverbs is to Solomon. We don't know this for a fact. Uh this is the great thing about Midrash. It just sort of fills in the blanks. It creates a subsidiary realm. So where we don't know the answers, it gives us a really good story. But I like this story. Because there's a hidden tenderness here. It's not just royal instruction, but it's a mother's plea. According to the tradition, Solomon, who had many wives and in latter part of his life uh was taken to a lot of partying and he fell asleep with the keys to the temple under his pillow. Now, we could already have to be a little suspicious of this story. Why did he have the keys to the temple?
And why did he sleep with them under his pillow? But according to the story, Bathsheba rebukes him. She reminds him "It's not for kings, O Lemuel, to drink wine, lest they forget what is decreed and pervert the rights of the afflicted." For us, it's a reminder that power, whether you have big power, whether you're a king, whether you're a president, you're the mayor, you're the rabbi of a synagogue, you're the principal of a school, you're a parent over a family, or you're a supervisor on your job, that power is not for your pleasure or self-aggrandizement, but that power exists so that you can elevate others, not yourself. I'm a big fan of Emmanuel Levinas. Most of you won't be familiar with the name, but let me assure you he is the greatest Jewish philosopher of the 20th century. The reason why I say greatest Jewish philosopher is not just cuz he's just Jewish, because he's one of the few great Jewish philosophers that was not an atheist, but in fact again relied upon Talmud and reflected upon it. And he, okay, and there are just so many wonderful things that he teaches, but I think among them is the fact that it is
impossible for us ever to remove our own pain. We can't do it. The only way according to Levinas that we can remove the pain in our own lives is to reach out and remove the pain of another. I encourage you today to think in those terms, that you were not put here for your own grandizement, you were not here for for putting here to uh to to just make yourself feel better, but to make everyone else feel better because we are so intimately tied one with another, even with those we don't know, even those that we might have considered to be our enemies. Remember, Yeshua encourages us to love those who we would think or consider to be our enemies. Moses lived his life instinctively. And when he said, "I've not taken one donkey from them." He revealed the heart of leadership. He had the authority to take, yet he chose to bear. He carried complaints, burdens, and fears for the people who didn't always return his care. I think it's the record's pretty clear. The people of Israel were not always nice to Moses. They didn't always treat him as he probably should have been treated. And maybe sometimes he deserved
a little contempt. Torah doesn't record that, but we all fall short. But he remained sober at all times in deepest sense. He refused not only excess, but the intoxication of ego. So, this is servant leadership. Like Bathsheba to Solomon, like God to Moses, like the message is always the same. You are not here for yourself. Remember that. You are not here for yourself. You're here for them. For everyone else, for anyone else, whoever God puts in your path. Korah grasps at power to elevate himself. Moses bears power to lift others up. That's the difference between a ruler and a servant of God. In Moses, we find a man who was both decisive when the community's future was at stake, a man who sought God's wisdom above all other voices, a man who led not for gain, but for a heart committed to God and his people. In On, we see the quiet courage to step away from what is wrong, even when it's popular. In Korah, we're warned how easily the language of righteousness can conceal the pursuit of power. And in Proverbs, we hear the voice of wisdom calling us back to what leadership is meant to be.
So, in your family, in your workplace, in your community, in your congregation, wherever you're called to lead, lead in the manner of a king. Be fair. Be God-dependent. But above all else, be caring and loving. And if you find yourself overwhelmed, remember this. Moses also fell on his face before the Lord. Even the greatest leaders need divine help. So, seek God, act justly, love mercy, and carry your crown with humility. Avinu, we thank you for this place. We thank you for these people. We thank you for your blessings. We thank you for your word. We thank you for all the goodness that you pour out upon us. May you continue to bless this congregation richly in all that they do. And may all the work of their hands produce for your sake. We pray this b'shem Yeshua. Amen.