T ORAH P ORTION
No Single Leadership Style Ideal
BY RABBI ALAN ISER
Parshat Ki Tisa
IN THIS WEEK’S Torah por-
tion, we encounter two very
diff erent leadership styles in
the ways Moses and Aaron
deal with the crisis of the
Golden Calf.

Th e people grow restless
when Moses is slow to return
from Mount Sinai. Indeed,
they seem to fear that Moses
will not return at all.

From a straightforward
reading of the text, it looks
like Aaron collaborates with
the people in constructing
the Golden Calf and wor-
shipping it. Not only are the
people engaging in idolatry,
but according to some com-
mentators, they get drunk and
engage in sexually inappro-
priate behavior. (Th e Hebrew
used here, l’tzachek, elsewhere
in the Torah has sexual conno-
tations.) Th e people are totally
out of control.

Th e rabbis in their mid-
rashic commentaries go out of
their way to exculpate Aaron by
claiming Aaron was just engag-
ing in delaying tactics, stalling
the people by collecting gold
and saying the next day would
be a holiday for God, hoping
that Moses would return in
the meantime. Th ere is even
a midrash which has Aaron
fearing for his life because he
has just seen his nephew, Hur,
killed by the angry mob when
he refused to help them make
the Golden Calf.

Despite these rabbinic
midrashim, the Torah itself
seems to render a guilty ver-
dict on Aaron’s behavior. In
Deuteronomy 9:20, Moses
reports that God was angry
enough at the time of the
Golden Calf that God would
have destroyed Aaron were it
not for Moses’ intervention.

How are we to understand
Aaron’s behavior?
Aaron grew up as a slave
so he understood this recently
liberated people’s mental-
ity. He empathized with their
vulnerabilities and insecuri-
ties. He reacted emotionally
to the trauma they were expe-
riencing when Moses did not
return by the appointed time.

Furthermore, Aaron, by nature,
was one who made accom-
modations and, according to
rabbinic tradition, was a born
peacemaker who hated confl ict.

Moses, by contrast, was
reared in Pharaoh’s palace,
and not as intimately familiar
with the Israelites’ emotional
make-up. Moreover, he is more
cerebral than the emotional
Aaron and more of an idealist,
and perhaps even an absolutist
in his outlook on the world.

When receiving news of
the Israelites’ acts, Moses fi rst
reacts by interceding with God
who wants to destroy the entire
nation. He cogently appeals to
the covenant God made with
the patriarchs, and God relents.

True, Moses reacts with
anger when he breaks the tab-
CAND LE LI GHT I NG
Feb. 22
Mar. 1
lets of the Ten Commandments
when he sees the people bois-
terously worshipping the
Golden Calf. However, the rab-
bis see this as Moses cleverly
destroying the evidence that
the Israelites are bound by the
Ten Commandments not to
worship other deities. He then
punishes not the entire people,
but just the main participants.

According to the medieval
commentator Nachmanides,
Moses understood that there
were too many perpetrators to
try them all in court, but he
still needed to put an end to the
Israelites’ destructive behavior.

He then goes back up the moun-
tain to again intercede with God
on behalf of the people so God
does not abandon them.

Moses’ battlefi eld justice
may seem harsh, but at the
same time he is able to sustain
his role as an advocate for his
people. Moses is able to grasp
the big picture and discern that
the whole enterprise and future
of the Jewish people is at stake
5:26 p.m.

5:34 p.m.

here and not totally give in to
the emotions of the moment.

He is able to deliver stern jus-
tice but also show compassion
for his people.

Th e question for us today
in the Jewish community
and American society is what
kind of leaders do we need:
an Aaron, with his accomo-
dationist love of the people,
or a Moses, who puts more
emphasis on ideals than on an
emotional connection to the
people. Is it possible to fi nd
leaders who combine the vir-
tues of both? ●
Rabbi Alan Iser is an adjunct pro-
fessor of theology at Saint Joseph’s
University, Villanova University and
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary.

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COMMUNITY NEWS
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
mobilizes financial and volunteer resources to
address the communities’ most critical priorities
locally, in Israel and around the world.

What is the NORC?
IN NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA, there’s a free retirement community
— one where older adults can age safely and with dignity in their very own
homes, with Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s support. We call it the
Northeast NORC.

NORC stands for Naturally Occurring Retirement Community. It’s a neighbor-
hood that contains a large proportion of people over age 60. Since the area wasn’t
originally planned to meet aging populations’ needs, residents of a NORC can
find it increasingly hard to do things like grocery shopping, changing light bulbs,
mowing the lawn or getting to a doctor’s appointment. Often, they can feel isolated.

And yet residents of the Northeast NORC — which spans six zip codes — would
prefer to continue living in their homes. That’s why Jewish Federation, along with
many community partners, created a system to link NORC’s 1,700 members with
the services they need.

NORC provides home assessments; home maintenance and repairs; transpor-
tation to medical appointments and Jewish life and learning events; socialization
opportunities; and information and referral services.

“The squirrels get in and chew up all my screens. And they sent someone and
repaired all my screens.” said Helen, a 92-year-old NORC resident. “I have a friend
in North Wales who tells me, ‘I wish I had someone like that.’”
NORC personnel also regularly check in with friendly visits and phone calls.

And residents are encouraged to come to KleinLife for free exercise classes, garden-
ing in the hoop houses and socializing over lunch and learns.

Volunteers are key to the NORC’s success.

They do everything from raking leaves, flipping mattresses, painting and
changing smoke alarm batteries to minor repairs like installing shower grab bars
and winterizing homes by covering windows in plastic. NORC volunteers find the
experience meaningful beyond the work itself, as it becomes an opportunity to talk
and connect with older adults, and hear their stories. One recent group of teenage
volunteers visiting a woman living by herself even lit Chanukah candles together.

At the Jewish Federation, we help our older adults stay healthy, safe and con-
nected. For more information about the NORC or to volunteer, visit jewishphilly.

org/norc or contact the NORC at norc@jewishphilly.org or 215-320-0351.

Jewish Philly Podcast Episode 11:
Attorney General Josh Shapiro
IT’S 2019, AND we’re kicking off
the new year by celebrating new
life and examining the challenges
facing Jewish millennials and young
parenthood. That’s followed by a conversation
about the recent Women’s March with
Jewish Exponent reporter Selah Maya
Zighelboim, and finally we’ll share the
story of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel,
who marched in Selma arm-in-arm
with Martin Luther King Jr. in pursuit
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM JEWISH EXPONENT
of righteousness and equality.

We also had the honor to sit down with
Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Josh Shapiro to
talk about the issue that has propelled him on to the
national stage — the Pennsylvania Catholic clergy
abuse scandal. We also talk about how his Jewish
values guide him as Pennsylvania’s head lawyer,
his future political plans and his advice for Jewish
communities combatting anti-Semitism.

You can listen to the Jewish Philly podcast at
jewishphilly.org/podcast or subscribe to our
channel on iTunes, Spotify or Google Play.

FEBRUARY 21, 2019
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