A Jewish school I know of in another state made it clear at
the beginning of each school year that its early childhood students,
particularly girls, should not come to school wearing colorful, poofy princess
dresses – for reasons of safety on the playground and for convenience in the
classroom. And despite this annual announcement,
over the course of the year there would inevitably be numbers of girls who
decided to put on the dress (say ‘yes’ to the dress?) anyway.
When I look at my own dress clothes, fairly straightforward,
small burst of color here and there, it tends to feel drab, even gloomy, when
compared to the bright colors of a princess costume and the even brighter smile
on a child’s face when she wears it.
There’s also something that’s similar, in both cases,
whether in a princess dress or a suit, a military uniform, a doctor’s white
jacket, in every case, even with all the training and experience of a
professional, whether princess or professional or in any leadership role in
life, in all our roles we are playing a part.
Each part has a lingo, various scripts depending on the situation, an
expected voice or tone, and in many cases a uniform.
Uniform does not make or break the role, after all, some police,
for example, wear plain clothes, but if a business person would go into a high
level negotiation meeting in a clown suit, then, I suspect everyone would be
scratching their heads, scratching their heads about identity, and the
assumptions, beliefs, and ultimately the trust that comes from a sharper sense
of identity.
There is a profound crisis of identity across political,
religious, and social lines that make leadership challenging in the early part
of this 21st century. In the
political arena, it is less clear what a democrat or a republican is or is
not. The lines between religious
denominations are grayer then even before.
In a time that TV commercials suggest we ask our doctor about a certain
treatment plan, for example, we may take on some of the doctor role
ourselves. It’s a muddled and
complicated picture of identity, roles, and assumptions that makes leadership
harder since it’s less clear who is the leader, who is the group that requires
the leadership, and what’s the relationship between the two.
Today, we heard about two Israelites Eldad and Medad, who
have cameo roles in the Torah, just here in chapter 11 of Numbers. When God’s spirit fills Moses and 70 elders,
they offer prophecy, and then God’s spirit leaves them and they stop offering
prophecy. Like a car, when it has fuel
it can move, but when it’s empty it’s two benches with a roof.
Two men, Eldad and Medad, continue to offer prophecy even
after the spirit leaves the others, and they make these prophecies in the camp
rather than in the Mishkan, the Holy Place.
Joshua, 2nd to Moses, asks Moses to denounce them
or hold them. Joshua seems to think they
are acting out of order, but Moses, again, puts things into perspective for
Joshua saying, “Would that the entire people of God be prophets, if God would
but place God’s spirit on them.”
We recall Moses mentoring Joshua in a similar way at Mount
Sinai, when Moses comes down from the top and hears the people partying by the
golden calf, Joshua says to him, “I hear the sound of war in the camp!” Moses responds, “I don’t hear the sound of
strength, or weakness, just the sound of song.”
In both moments, Joshua takes a hard line regarding
identity, the description of sound in one, and the identity of prophets in the
other.
And in both moments, Moses reminds him that his first
impressions are incorrect, that he must step back, and see reality in context.
Context, after all, is a necessary element for evaluating
leadership. The high level business
person just might choose to put on a clown costume if her company is
negotiating a deal on importing clown clothing for Barnum and Bailey.
As we are living in a time when all manner of identities are
grayer, less well-defined, then the way we identify anything depends upon a
cumulative evaluation of spoken words, dialogue, writing, and the way a person
or group chooses to act in a variety of settings, whether in peace or conflict.
We might react the same way, for example, to Joshua if a
small group of people declare themselves to be prophets, but the Meshivat
Nefesh, Rabbi Yochanan Son of Aaron Luria (Alsace, born 1440), explains Eldad
and Medad did not want to be prophets, did not want the status, in fact, they
wanted none of it and tried to escape until ha’kavod
radaf acha’rey’hem, the honor chased after them, and they achieved the
merit of being prophets all the time, like Moses. And as a result, their lives changed forever
since they had to maintain purity, and would have to live more often away from
their families to do so.
Leadership, though, is not something reserved for people who
fit certain roles in which leadership is expected. It is a way of thinking and living. Tablet Magazine writer Liel Leibovitz says it
best, quote, “As
Eldad and Medad…show us so unequivocally, we all have within us the engines of
our own greatness. All we need to do is start them and see change coming, not
from above but from within, sustainable and real and sweeter than we can
imagine.”
If each of us can summon the courage to lead, to find our voice,
to take a stand for our beliefs, we will find the energy to do it – working on
behalf of ourselves and others breeds more energy for doing this work rather
than sapping us.
And there are times, even if it’s not a deal about clown
clothing, that we must change the uniform, change the language, and even the
usual approach like the girls who put on princess dresses when running,
climbing, sliding, and doing a day’s learning in the classroom.
A distinguished American, whose statue and picture I saw several
times when at the Capitol in Washington this past week, put the choice to wear
a princess dress against the rules in a lasting expression, “A little
revolution now and then is a good thing.”
That distinguished American, Thomas Jefferson.
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