There is a particular temptation that comes with leadership, especially for men who have spent years building organizations, communities, careers, or reputations. We begin by wanting to serve something larger than ourselves. Eventually, almost without noticing, we can start believing that the thing we serve cannot survive without us. However, the end of Deuteronomy is, among other things, a sustained argument against that belief.

Parashat Nitzavim begins with Moses gathering the entire community: leaders and laborers, elders and children, those standing before him and even “those who are not with us here this day” (Deuteronomy 29:9–14). The covenant already extends beyond Moses and beyond the generation that first received it. Its future is built into its meaning. Then Vayelech makes the point personal.

Moses tells Israel, “I am now one hundred and twenty years old, I can no longer be active.” More importantly, he acknowledges the boundary he cannot overcome: “You shall not go across yonder Jordan” (Deuteronomy 31:1–2). Joshua will.

This is one of the Bible’s most psychologically sophisticated moments of leadership. Moses has spent forty years forming this people. He confronted Pharaoh, crossed the sea, received Torah, endured rebellion, pleaded with God on Israel’s behalf, and carried a complaining nation through the wilderness. And then he doesn’t  even get to finish the story! For many leaders, that is almost unbearable.

Leadership easily becomes identity. A man who has spent decades being the person others consult, follow, praise, blame, or depend upon may find that stepping aside........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)