Be a leader; and start with yourself!

What is leadership really? If you do a google search you’ll find endless inspiring quotes about leadership. What they have in common is that they refer to the humility of the leader and how they lead by example. They are also all about how the leader connects to the people that he/she leads or is a leader for.

True leadership starts at home, in the “small world” of ourselves. Even the humble leader finds it easier to lead for others than to lead himself.

“Who is strong? He who conquers his inclination.” (Pirkay Avos)

The one who conquers the might enemy, the one leads a great corporation to success, the one who swoops in to save a crisis, while all these are worthy endeavors, they fall short of leading oneself.

Perhaps that is why we see historically that some great leaders in their own personal lives were immoral or cruel people (to their own family).

The opening of this weeks Torah portion is about placing judges and guards at the gates of your cities. The Torah is talking about the need to ensure that law and order are in place and that the rules of the Torah are being followed.

A deeper meaning to this idea is that the Torah is teaching us what real leadership is. It is placing judges and guards at your own gates – the entry points into the body through which we interact with the outside world (ears, eyes, nose, mouth). To ensure that we use good judgement with ourselves and with who we truly are and to place guards to enforce this.

So the next time you think or feel that you are being a good leader (each of us is a leader in our world) make sure you are demonstrating good leadership and that you are truly leading in you own “small world”.

Good Shabbos!

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