Pinchas: Changing of the Garments
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 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.
