Parashat: Beha’alotcha

Parashat: Beha’alotcha
Torah Reading: Numbers 8:1–12:16

“Then the Eternal spoke to Moses: ‘Gather for Me seventy of Israel’s elders… and I will come down and speak with you there; and I will draw upon the spirit that is upon you and put it upon them; they shall share the burden of [the leadership of] the people with you, and you shall not bear it alone.'”

— Numbers 11:16–17

In this brief moment, Moses proves his status as the very model of a humble leader or teacher. And in this season of graduations, we each bring to mind the teachers, mentors and leaders that we have had throughout our lives who were this very model of leadership. The midrash (Tanhuma Buber, Beha’alotecha 28) puts it this way: “Since the spirit of prophecy that was placed upon the elders was drawn from Moses, one would suppose that Moses must have been diminished by this. But this was not the case! To what may Moses be compared in this moment? To a lamp that burns bright. Though many other lamps are lit from it, it remains just as bright.” So it is with the very best of our teachers and mentors. They give over their knowledge, inspire their students, take delight in the accomplishments of their disciples, recognizing that there is no diminishment to their own self — in fact, the opposite. They are built up by that which they joyfully give away!

— Rabbi Craig Axler