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Who am I? By Nadav Shragai Tags: moses Moses was commanded to lead Israel from Egypt, but were he alive today, he likely wouldn't pass the ratings test - an old man who began his leadership career at age 80, "heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue" as Exodus tells us, humble as any man alive. Not exactly the traits that advance a public servant nowadays. "Suddenly an idea erupted within me to write a biblical drama called 'Moses'," dreamed the state's visionary, Theodore (Benjamin Ze'ev) Herzl. "A great, powerful figure, filled with the strength of life and the spirit of humor... He is the leader because he does not want to be it. Everything is swayed to his will because he has no personal desires. His aim is not the fulfillment, but the wandering." A leader who didn't want to lead, who saw himself as someone undeserving for the mission at hand, is certainly unfit to hold a leadership post in this day and age. Advertisement "Who am I," he asked God, "that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" And yet if the timetables were turned, who of this generation's leaders would have been fit to lead the Israelites through the wilderness for 40 years? How many could, like Moses, treat their brothers with patience, and without reporters and cameras, direct the lines of needy people growing month to month for today's "bread of poverty" - as matzah is described in Scripture - or visit the factories sending home tens of thousands of workers? How many of today's leaders purified their hearts as shepherds for 40 years before seizing the staff of leadership? Who would dare shatter the tablets while the entire nation danced around the Golden Calf? And when in recent memory did a leader arise in Israel unafraid of public opinion, polls and ratings, willing to stick to the end with the truth he believed in, leading the public behind him instead of being led by it? Who takes reality into account, instead of insisting on creating it in his own image? Above all of Moses' other traits, what is most lacking in today's leadership is a measure of humility. More than a few of Israel's presidents and prime ministers excelled in upholding sacrificial altars to themselves, until they blurred the borders between "I" and "the state," between the issue and themselves. Since the days of president Yitzhak Ben-Zvi's infamous Jerusalem "shack" and prime minister Menachem Begin's modest apartment on Tel Aviv's Rosenbaum Street, our national leadership has grown distant from the commandment of modesty. The pathetic decision to create a lavish prime ministerial residence (which Benjamin Netanyahu wisely canceled) is symptomatic of this. The picture of the burning bush has been compared to Moses himself, ablaze in the fire of the prophecy and a mission that will not give him rest. We cannot expect our leaders to speak to God face-to-face, as Moses did, but their behavior makes one wonder if, as we say in modern Hebrew, they "have a god" at all. How good it would be to occasionally hear a leader who also something of a prophet, one for whom the fire of his mission burns in his bones, who convinces the people with his deeds and behavior, and with his speech. One who speaks to us from his heart of hearts, not from a PR man or ghostwriter somewhere in the wings. He need not be a miracle worker, simply a truth teller who believes in his truth and abides by it. On the Jewish people's birthday, the State of Israel, the Jewish state, deserves a leader who doesn't flee from the obligation to strengthen its Jewish identity. The state deserves a figure who can shake off the self-flagellating complex of crying "ashamnu, bagadnu, gazalnu" (We offended, we betrayed, we robbed) to those who rise up to destroy us. That leader has to be not only a person of integrity and dedication, a talented strategist and politician, but also an educator willing when necessary to rebuke public opinion. But first he must look in the mirror and ask the question Moses posed to God: Who am I? Bookmark to del.icio.us   A plague on Egypt Report: Iran behind planned terror attacks against targets in Egypt by Hezbollah. Determined diplomacy Obama: U.S. 'strongly supports' two-state solution, vows to continue peace process.

Read & React Obama team readying for clash with Netanyahu Responses: 361 U.S. reiterates commitment to two-state solution after Lieberman remarks Responses: 115 Biden: Israel would be 'ill-advised' to attack Iran Responses: 92 At least 16 hurt in clash between Bat Ayin settlers, Palestinians Responses: 77 More Headlines 22:59 Clinton: We don't know what to believe about Iran nukes 22:53 'Iran behind Hezbollah bid to strike Egypt targets' 22:53 Obama invites friends, aides to White House Passover seder 20:53 WATCH: Did Barack Obama bow to Saudi King Abdullah? 21:56 Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams meets Hamas leader during Gaza trip 19:22 'Jerusalem should be capital for the Palestinians and Israel' 22:46 WATCH: Daily news round-up from Israel 21:23 Body of Israeli killed in Italy quake being flown to Israel Friday 14:11 Britain's anti-terror chief resigns over arrests blunder 20:06 Mubarak, Abbas talk Palestinian reconciliation in Cairo 10:46 Alternative Haggadah / A Holocaust-era version of the Four Sons 20:55 Shalit friends hold protest seder outside Netanyahu home Previous Editions Select Day 09 apr 08 apr 07 apr 06 apr 05 apr 03 apr 02 apr 01 apr 31 mar 30 mar 29 mar 27 mar

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