Illustration Credit: Rivka Tsinman
Moshe tells Benei Yisrael about the challenges they experienced during their 40 years of wandering in the desert. It wasn’t easy to be their leader.
אֵיכָה אֶשָּׂא לְבַדִּי
טׇרְחֲכֶם וּמַשַּׂאֲכֶם וְרִיבְכֶם׃
הָבוּ לָכֶם אֲנָשִׁים חֲכָמִים וּנְבֹנִים וִידֻעִים לְשִׁבְטֵיכֶם
וַאֲשִׂימֵם בְּרָאשֵׁיכֶם׃
“How can I bear alone
the trouble of you, and your burden, and your bickering!
Pick from each of your tribes people who are wise, insightful, and knowledgeable,
and I will appoint them as your heads.”
- What do you notice? What questions do you have?
- Have you ever had a job that felt too big, and you knew you couldn’t do it on your own? What was that experience like? How do you imagine Moshe felt?
- When you delegate, you trust another person with the responsibility of doing a task. What are the pros and cons of delegating? Why is it sometimes difficult to ask for help?
Listen carefully in shul! You might hear pasuk 12 being read in the sad melody that we’ll use for reading the Book of Eikhah on Tisha B’Av, next week. This custom developed because pasuk 12 opens with the word אֵיכָה (eikhah, how).
- Can you also find the word eikhah in this week’s haftarah? (Hint: Look at Yeshayahu 1:21.)
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