This week, coming out of watching the film Nuremberg, I found myself unsettled — not only by the horrors of history, but by the psychology of leadership. That unease stayed with me as I turned to the parsha that follows Terumah: Parshat Tetzaveh, the parsha of garments, ceremony, and sacred leadership.

At first glance, the connection seems distant. One deals with the Kohen Gadol’s clothing; the other with Nazi war crimes. But beneath the surface, both ask the same uncomfortable question:

Why is leadership so complex — and so dangerous?

Why is leadership so complex — and so dangerous?

The Power of Clothing, Ceremony, and Image

Tetzaveh devotes extraordinary detail to the garments of the Kohen Gadol — gold, precious stones, woven fabrics, bells, inscriptions. This is not incidental. Judaism understands that power expresses itself visually. Clothing creates authority. Ceremony creates distance. Pomp creates awe.

But the Torah’s message is subtle and sharp: The garments are holy — not the man.

The uniform does not glorify the individual; it restrains him. The Kohen Gadol wears the names of the tribes on his shoulders and over his heart. Leadership is weight, not privilege. Responsibility, not entitlement.

This is Torah’s first warning: when leaders begin to believe that the symbolism belongs to them, not the role they temporarily occupy, leadership begins to rot.

Nuremberg and the Seduction of Charm

Nuremberg is disturbing not because Göring is portrayed as a monster, but because he is portrayed as human — intelligent, articulate, charming, cultured, even a family man. The psychiatrist assigned to evaluate him is slowly drawn into his world. He respects his intellect. He feels his charisma. He is almost seduced.

And that is the danger.

Göring was not a raving lunatic. He was a narcissist with discipline, intelligence, and moral compartmentalization. He could love his family and remain utterly disconnected from the millions who suffered under his command.

The most frightening realization is this: Evil does not always announce itself as evil. It often wears fine clothing, speaks well, loves selectively — and destroys without remorse.

The Split Soul: Family Man and Narcissist

This leads to a difficult question: How can someone be a devoted family man and still be responsible for mass cruelty?

Psychologically, the answer is clear: compartmentalization.

Narcissistic leaders often:

Divide the world into “us” and “them”

Limit empathy to their inner circle

Separate private virtue from public brutality

Experience dissent as personal attack

They are not devoid of feeling. They are morally fragmented.

Judaism rejects this model outright. There is no “private morality” and........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)