Dvar Torah: Parshat Bo - Who's speaking?

You might remember the classic Abbot and Costello routine “Who’s on first?”  It’s timeless.

In parshat Bo, when God teaches the people how to remember the Exodus from Egypt into the future, God tells Moses and Aaron, speak to all the community of Israel – but who will actually do the talking?

Moses or Aaron? 

They each speak to Pharaoh at different moments.

The Rabbis teach us a lesson in building a leadership team in the way they answer this question.

Moses and Aaron decide to share the honor of speaking to the people.  Each says to the other “Teach me”, Lamdeni, and with this openness to learning from one another and working together, the Rabbis say a miracle happens and the word of God comes from the space between them, as though they were both speaking.

Building an effective leadership team in synagogue, in any organization, is about openness to learning and listening, from a willingness to think creatively and to put the good of the community first -- to trust that with this spirit, we will create a holy space where we will hear God’s voice speaking through us.