The Righteous Leader

Moses was the most humble man who ever walked the face of the earth. He was willing to forfeit everything in defense of the Jewish People. His pleading on their behalf saved them from Hashem’s wrath on more than one occasion. Yet, he didn’t want to be a leader; Hashem forced him. He had no other motivation other than the ultimate welfare of his people when he chastised them.
 
The true tzaddikim of subsequent generations also shunned away from leadership. But, when Hashem put them in a position of spiritual responsibility, they chastised their fold rather than let them stray from Hashem.
 
In stark contrast, crooked leaders crave leadership posts, mostly for their own personal gain and aggrandizement. Ultimately though, lose their post of leadership. Since the world was created in such a way so that people could learn emuna, when leaders act dishonestly – in other words, when their actions are incongruent with emuna – they are destined to fall. Hashem created the world according to the Torah; actions which violate Torah therefore go against the grain of creation and eventually fail.
 
Divine morality is absolute morality, not subject to human interpretation and compromise. If a person makes a decision out of self-interest, then his decision is already tainted with subjectivity and straying from the truth. The Torah says that self-interest, or any type of bribe, is enough to cloud the judgment of even a righteous and pious person. As such, only a simple and honest leader who clings to Hashem with emuna can be a reliable leader who is impervious to outside pressures and swaying of any kind.
 
We see in contemporary times that the world lacks honest and straightforward leaders. The whole intrinsic purpose of monarchy on earth is to crown Hashem, like King David did. That’s why King David’s monarchy lasts forever, until his descendant – the Messiah (Mashiach) – will arrive, speedily and in our days.
 
The world’s regimes are so corrupt because the leaders are far away from emuna. With no emuna, there can be neither justice nor truth — only vested interests of those in power currently. With such prevalent leadership, the world loses its entire sense of justice and truth.
 
Where there’s no fear of G-d, there can be no justice. When Abraham came to Grar in Canaan, he told the locals that his wife Sarah was his sister. Since she was so beautiful and fit for a king, the locals snatched her from Abraham and took her to King Avimelech. Hashem came to Avimelech and warned him not to touch Sarah, for she was a married woman and the wife of a holy man. Otherwise, he would have sinned against her.
 
Avimelech chastised Abraham: “Why did you tell me this was your sister? I almost sinned…”
 
Abraham replied, “I saw that there is no fear of G-d in this place.” Such a place is dangerous – no justice, no truth, and certainly no morality. Abraham knew that he could have been killed because of the locals’ lust for a beautiful woman such as Sarah.
 
How did Abraham know that the people of Grar were not G-d-fearing? As soon as he entered their border, they asked him about his wife. They didn’t ask him the customary questions, such as “How long do you plan to stay here?” or “What is the nature of your business in Grar?” As soon as they started asking about Sarah, Abraham knew that he had to be careful, for this was a wanton place.
 
Possibly, the above thoughts seem extreme to you. Maybe you know certain leaders who are honest and decent even though they’re not necessarily G-d-fearing individuals. This is apparently correct; but, when tested, and they have to choose between their own personal interests and the public good, the public good loses. For example, Germany was one of the most cultured nations on earth; overnight, the Nazis came to power and the nation became barbaric.
 
Rebbe Nachman teaches us that the true righteous leader has one interest only – bringing his followers closer to Hashem. With this in mind, you can decide who is a true leader and who is not.
 
A true tzaddik never changes. Throughout history, our righteous ancestors were willing to sacrifice their lives rather than compromise their emuna. Truth cannot be subjective, based on each society’s interpretation of their individual personal interests. May Hashem send us true leaders of emuna, amen!