Voices of WRJ: Parashah B'haalot'cha

by Janet Buckstein This week’s parashah is B'haalot'cha (Numbers 8:1-12:16). While there are three distinct sections, essentially each has a common theme: the often difficult burden of leadership, which many of us encounter in sisterhood, in WRJ, at work, or in another organization. • In the first section, the Israelites are provided with rules and guidance for travel preparation. Their leader, Moses, prepares them for what will be a physical and spiritual journey. God provides Moses with “assistants” (the Levites), to help reduce the burden of responsibility. • Next, the Israelites begin their travels to the Promised Land. They have become concerned regarding their ongoing sustenance and fulfillment of their physical needs. These concerns erupt into direct criticism and challenge of their leader, Moses. • Finally, the challenge continues with Moses’ siblings, Aaron and Miriam, questioning his leadership. God punishes Miriam by striking her with leprosy and she is banned from the community. After Moses pleads with God to heal her, she recovers and is able to re-join the community. I suspect that most of you who are reading this are playing a leadership role in some way. Whether you are a sisterhood president or committee chair, or a WRJ officer or board member, or lead a team at your work or volunteer organization, you understand that with leadership comes responsibility. Each of us has certainly faced situations where no matter how hard we may teach, mentor, and even love those we work with, there can be trying times. We can ask for help and train others to share the burden, but there will still be times when we are very much alone. In that sense I am struck by the situation that Moses finds himself in and how even God needs to find a way to move the community beyond the disruption of the few. At the WRJ Midwest District Kallah last April, Diane Kaplan led us in a discussion of what it means to be, “B’tzelem Elohim… created in the image of God.” Personally, my reaction was that this means that God is in each of us. Just as God must act on behalf of the welfare of the community, so too must each of us. While we may not have God’s power, we do need to find ways to support the needs of those we lead to accomplish their shared goals. Whether it requires resolving conflicts between individuals or groups, or even dealing with lack of support from those outside of our teams, we need to directly address the issues and concerns. Then, just as Miriam received the full respect of the community who would not resume their journey without her, we also need to seek solutions that bring everyone back together. Finally, when feeling alone or isolated, is not community the support we all need to succeed? In thinking about what I really “get” from my leadership role in WRJ, it is exactly that… a bond with a community of leaders that share common goals, the joy of accomplishment, and the trials of difficult decisions or even failure. We are not alone! Janet Buckstein is a WRJ Board Member, WRJ Midwest District Chicago Metro Area Director, and a Board member of Lakeside Congregation Sisterhood in Highland Park, IL.