Written by Rabbi Aryeh Dachs
As was the custom of the Rebbes before him, the fourth Grand Rebbe of Chabad the Rebbe R’ Shmuel (Mahrash) would hold Yechidus, one on one sessions with his followers.
An audience with the Rebbe was a precious moment treasured by the chasidim, Remarkably, although the Rebbe met with many chasidim, the Rebbe took each of these meetings as seriously, if not more seriously, than the chasid he was meeting with. The meetings were intense; each meeting, the Rebbe's clothing would become soaked from perspiration and unwearable. His attendant would then have to fetch a fresh change of clothing for the Rebbe.
The story goes, the Rebbe’s attendant complained, dealing with the Rebbes clothing was relentless. The Rebbe explained that he was also relentlessly busy fetching clothing! “When a chasid comes into the room for an audience with me, I need to understand him fully, to do this, I have to take off my ‘garments’ (my perspective) and put on his ‘garments’ (to see things from his perspective). Then, I must advise the chasid. To offer proper guidance, I must remove his ‘garments’ and ‘don’ my Rabbinical attire. Then, to effectively communicate my guidance back to the chasid I must of course, ‘remove’ my rabbinical attire. Is it any wonder I perspire so profusely during these meetings?! Fetching the right clothing and changing all the time is tireless work, indeed!”
In parshas Pinchas, Moshe understands that he will not lead the people into the Promised Land. Moshe prays to Hashem to provide his people, the people of Israel, with a capable and worthy leader to succeed him. The request is fascinating. Moshe asks that Hashem provide a leader who would be able to tolerate each person according to their needs. Later, Hashem consents and instructs Moshe to appoint his faithful student, Yehoshua as the next leader. The reason? “he has spirit in him”. Explains Rashi, Yehoshua had the unique ability to contend with the spirit, the unique character and dynamic of each member of the community.
Communication is the bedrock of effective leadership. Breakdowns in communication are often simply due to people being so different from one another, they cannot communicate their positions or relate to the other’s perspective. The Netziv (R’ Naftali Tzvi Berlin, leader of the great Volozhin Yeshiva; (1816-1893) in his commentary Emek HaNetziv, explains, that Rashi’s interpretation fits with the words of the verse “he has ruach, spirit, in him”. The word, ruach, “spirit” here refers to a person’s weltanschauung, his unique perspective. Yehishua had “spirit in him”, meaning to say, it was as if all the different perspectives were contained within him. Yehoshua had an uncanny ability to connect and understand others. His understanding of others was so deep, it was almost as if Yehoshua shared the same “spirit” weltanschauung as the person he was interacting with.
The Torah teaches that the primary qualification for a leader is his ability to understand, and relate to, different people. This attribute of Yehoshua was why he was chosen to succeed Moshe. Like the Rebbe R’ Shmuel taught, there is no limit to the energies we can expend changing our ‘garments’. The ability to understand another perspective, to see things from a different angle is not easy, but in our work influencing our families and our communities, it is essential. The value of this trait cannot be underestimated.
