Leadership Of A Higher Calling

Moshe Kempinski

For years the people of Israel have been fed a low level of journalism and concocted media events. For years we have had to endure reading on the front pages of Israel’s newspapers about who hates who, in the corridors of power. We have been inundated for a very long time with reports of corruption, thievery and immoral conduct. The television is replete with Reality television glorifying the most basal and self serving qualities of the people of Israel. It is no wonder that the Israeli people have become demoralized to such an extent that they do not expect any better from their leadership and no revelation of criminal activity or immoral behavior is received with surprise.

Yet suddenly the leaders of Israel are making the right decisions and saying the right things. Their motivation remains suspect and the new approach is probably temporary. This is so since even in the midst of warfare the bickering of these self serving leaders has simply become embarrassing. Senior sources in Jerusalem,( read the Prime Minister Office) slam defense minister Barak over his support of Egyptian ceasefire initiative which they claim Hamas interprets as weakness. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert very un-diplomatically claims that his intervention with President Bush made the US abstain from last Thursday's UN Security Council resolution vote on a Gaza cease-fire. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Olmert's story of what happened in his conversation with Bush was "just 100 percent, totally, completely not true "Whether the story was exaggeration, falsehood, or the whole truth, it reeks of self serving interests. Meanwhile Foreign Minister Livni is being maligned by all sides for her handling of the crisis.

This is the elected leadership of Israel and one wonders if there is any hope for a people who elected and have supported such a leadership.

We read in the beginning of the book of Shmot that Moshe left the palace to walk amongst his people in order to both understand their plight and show his support. Upon seeing an Egyptian beating the Hebrew slave and no one standing forth to protect him, he began to realize the full impact of the oppression. The Israelites had lost the will or courage to stand up and fight back. Yet when confronted with the brazen response of this evil Hebrew slave beating another, Moshe began to comprehend the full impact of this slavery. This Hebrew slave considered Moshe’s act of justice and compassion to be inherently evil.

This was what is meant when Moshe declares "Indeed the matter is known" (Shmot/Exodus 2:14).These oppressed slaves had lost the understanding of justice, righteousness, and compassion. If Moshe wondered ,as Rashi implies, what is it that kept this people in bondage for so long, "Indeed the matter (was now) known.” Moshe escapes from Egypt when Pharaoh hears of the event. Moshe escapes from the persecution of the Egyptian authorities. He escapes as well from his disappointment in the people that he sought to reach out to. The pain of looking to and fro and seeing that there was no man that had the courage to stand up for his freedom was too great to bear. as it says in the verse ;

" And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, ( ibid 2:12) "

Moshe seemed to have lost his belief in the ability of this people to soar above their slave mentality. Perhaps there was no hope for such a people. We then hear nothing regarding Moshe for over fifty years.

Yet when the people cry out to G-d with the classical Jewish sigh, the events take a dramatic turn.

” and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto G-d ( ibid 2:23) .

That Jewish sigh was the classical cry of sadness mixed with an undertone of hope and faith . It was what Jews called a Krechtz a sigh that intimated that things could and should be better. It is after that “sigh” that G-d meets Moshe at the burning bush. The small little bush which so clearly became a metaphor of the Israelite nation under oppression became a message that Moshe clearly understood .This little bush blazing with fire was not to be consumed and Moshe was to understand that the same was true of this his people.

Such is the case of the beleaguered people in the small nation of Israel. The power of this people is not to be found in its faulty leadership. The power of this people is found in the midst of the people themselves. Suddenly the pages of those same newspapers are filled with stories of faith passion and courage. Stories that keep unfolding hour after hour and day after day.

The parents of St.-Sgt. Nitai Stern and Capt. Yoni Netanel sent messages to the soldiers whose “friendly fire “accidentally killed their sons. Rabbi Amos Netanael and his wife Malki wrote the following" It is important for us to tell you that we love you with all the warmth of our hearts, you are like our own children Please, we ask you, keep up the same great spirit that beat in Yoni¹s heart ¬ the spirit of faith, of strength, daring and love, and we will then know that Yoni continues to live forever within you."

Thousands of reservists answered the nation’s call and entered Gaza this week. These groups of soldiers were made up of working people, professionals and students. Many left young children at home and one of those declared on the radio ,that as he entered Gaza , he said Shma Yisrael and prayed that he would see his children again . Yet in spite of those concerns he said that he was filled with a determination to do what needed to be done to protect his fellow countrymen. Another soldier declared”We came here with a lot of will. We are taking upon ourselves this mission with all the courage necessary, and we will do whatever we need to do and return home victorious, healthy and whole, amen," .

IDF officer Aharon Karov was critically wounded Monday night in the Gaza strip. Aharon had only been married a week and a half before his injury. .He had studied in a yeshiva in Netzarim, one of the Jewish communities destroyed in the 2005 Israeli Disengagement from Gaza. Yet neither the wedding nor the fact that he was one of the victims of this same government's Expulsion/Disengagement kept Aharon from doing what he felt he was religiously driven to do. Prayers are being said throughout the world for his recovery.

Homes across Israel have opened to residents of the south who needed a place of refuge for themselves and their children, even if only for a Shabbat. Prayer gatherings were being held across the country in homes, synagogues and Yeshivot. Many individuals took upon themselves to pray for an individual soldier, many times not knowing who those soldiers were. A woman in the old city of Jerusalem has been busy knitting scores of socks and warm hats while another in the north is baking cookies nightly to deliver to the boys on the front. People are donating games clothes and baked goods for the residents in the south that have been ordered to stay within 15 seconds of the shelters.

The leadership of this country has failed its people. Yet the people are showing greatness, compassion and vision. The leadership of this country is focused on election day while its people are focused on destiny. The Israeli nation is a people without true leadership and it is therefore a great relief that they are a people that are being led by a Higher calling.