Parashat Pinchas

At the end of this week's parashah, Moses asks the Holy One to appoint the one who will lead the people of Israel after him. The Holy One chooses Joshua, and defines him with the words: 'a man in whom there is spirit.' Moses did not ask only for a leader who would manage the people well. He asked to establish a foundation for the generations. A true leader is a person who knows how to unify. To unify spirit and life, values and deeds, vision and reality. It is easy to be swept up after charisma, slogans, or the battles of camps. But the Torah and Rav Kook remind us that the more important question is not who knows how to rule, but who succeeds in connecting. Who lives the values of which he speaks, and who is able to turn a great idea into reality. 'A man in whom there is spirit.'