General Norman Schwartzkopf once said, "Leadership is the combination of character and strategy. If you have to lose one, lose strategy."
As the elections pass, one cannot help but consider what are the functions of government, and what is required of those who would be its officials.
It occurs that there are two main functions of governmental leadership. (I ask forgiveness of true students of government if I fail to include any critical elements).One function is the nuts-and-bolts administration of programs and policies, both domestic and foreign. The other is the tone that is set, the character of the nation that the government either creates or reflects. Those who run the government, most especially the President, are the ones responsible for maintaining high standards in these two areas.
In applying the thought of General Schwartzkopf, we could call the first area strategy and the second area character. Certainly the government needs to function smoothly. Checks need to be distributed, revenue collected, and the military gently and carefully overseen. Yet it is the latter area that is most critical, for ideally it is from it that the strategy will flow. Thus, while the President and his cabinet members must be effective administrators, it is vitally important that they set a proper and healthy ethical tone for the country. Just as religious leaders are held to the highest standards of moral behavior because of their leadership roles, so, too, the nation's political leaders must be able to emerge unblemished from an exacting scrutiny of their actions and characters. As powerful leaders, they are emulated by youth and adults alike. We deserve to have leaders whom we can view with pride and admiration. We deserve that, that is, if we think and act as if we deserve it.
We can look back at our own history for some insight on the personalities of our own leaders. (While it would be grossly improper to reduce the Avos -our own Patriarchs - to mere "models of leadership", it is not unreasonable to learn from their examples in this area).
Avraham was not merely a kind person. He loved humanity with his entire being; so much so that Gd chose him to be His emissary, so to speak, to the rest of the world. No personal sacrifice was too great for Avraham to make to show extreme kindness towards others. He - together with Sarah - reached out to others with love, taught them about Gd, and helped them become better and more spiritually aware human beings.
Yitzchak was the paradigm of strength. He understood what, in most any given situation, needed to be done, and allowed no compromise, regardless of the cost. His will was to do Gd's will and he allowed no personal interest - including his own life - to interfere with its accomplishment.
Yaakov was one of our original applied scholars. He made the study of Truth his life, dwelling in the "tent of Torah." Yet he was also most resourceful, knowing how to apply the Truth to insure its integrity and perpetuation. Yaakov had a vision of the future and crafted life to shape its outcome.
These are some of the traits that the Torah teaches us about character and leadership: kindness, conviction, integrity, self-sacrifice, tireless scholarship, vision, & upholding of Truth. It is not too much to expect from our leaders, political as well as religious, to be of such noble character. We must continue to expect and demand it to continue to be worthy of it.
Rabbi Efraim Davidson
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