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PRESIDENT'S
REMARKS:
STRATEGIC PLANNING IS FROM THE TORAH
PARASHAT YITRO-D'VAR TORAH
Given by Barbara Haworth at the Feb. 16, 2006. Board Meeting
According to strict Jewish interpretation, there are no coincidences in life
but rather, everything happens for a reason. So it is not a coincidence then
that Parashat Yitro should fall this week, the week of a Congregation Beth Israel
Board Meeting.
After all, this particular parashah is often used as the opening to many conferences
of Jewish leaders. And Yitro is chocked full of things that leaders and rabbis
like to reference. As Torah portions go, it is a veritable gold mine for study
and interpretation.
In Parashat Yitro, the Israelites receive the Torah at Mt. Sinai. The Ten Commandments
are enumerated in the portion. The name itself, Yitro, is not what we would expect
from this important portion of the Torah.
Parashat Yitro opens with the story of the visit by Moses' father-in-law, Yitro,
or Jethro, who is described as a priest of Midian. How odd that this important
portion is named after a minor figure who was a pagan, and a priest among them
at that.
The day after Yitro's arrival, Moses sits in judgment of the people "while
the people stood about him from morning until evening." But when Moses'
father in law saw how much he had to do for the people, he said, "What is
this thing that you are doing to the people? Why do you act alone while all the
people stand about you from morning until evening? The thing you are doing is
not right; you will surely wear yourself out and these people as well. For the
task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. You shall seek out from among
all the people capable men who fear God, trustworthy men who spur ill gotten
gain. Set these over them as chiefs of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens
and let them judge the people at all times. Have them bring every major dispute
to you, but let them decide every minor dispute themselves. Make it easier for
yourself by letting them share the burden with you."
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The Torah sets up the first model of a functional organization and the need to
delegate authority and shared decision making. And so the text proclaims, "Committees
shall henceforth be a significant factor in Jewish life!"
Why is it that it is Yitro, who is the stranger to the group, the one who sees
the organizational log jam and can offer the solution to sort out the work load
as well as create a hierarchy to address the level of difficulty of each issue?
Why didn't anyone from the Israelite group see this, as obvious as it was?
Could that "fresh eyes theory" stem from this Torah portion as well?
Or could it be that the "new idea" took hold because Yitro was given
a position by the leadership that allowed his voice to be heard?
Oddly, this new management plan actually preceded the giving of the Torah at
Mt. Sinai – for the Yitro visit occurs first. Would the miracle of Sinai
have been different if the former organizational chaos had still been in place?
Rabbi Shimon Felix explains this sequence of events by saying "The Torah
of one man, even a Moshe, is not the Torah of a nation. Yitro's plan democratizes,
spreads out, and therefore complicates beautifully the message of the Torah,
taking it out of the hands of any one individual and making it the property of
the people. It is this Torah that we are meant to receive, not a monolithic Torah,
interpreted by only one person, one sensibility."
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Right now we face the magnificent opportunity here at Congregation Beth Israel
to "engage the chiefs of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens" in
order to bring their perspective and their own "judgment" to bear for
the benefit of this community-for the burden of the future is too heavy for those
of us in leadership to carry it alone. We need to hear the voices of the congregation
in our strategic planning initiative to be able to ensure that our mission statement
becomes "the property of the people." This will help us to change our
culture from our current "user status," where our members pick and
choose from an array of offerings, to be a "committed culture," whereby
the "chiefs of the thousands, etc," have been engaged in shaping the
future and thereby, are stakeholders in the vision for their congregation.
And even that first "outside consultant," Yitro, might be amazed to
find that this undertaking can shape the future in even more ways than just the
plan itself. We hope that many more "chiefs" will surface through this
process and become the leaders of the future. As much as this parashat speaks
to us about delegation it must also speak to us all about leadership development,
an endeavor that is not only parallel but also a hoped for byproduct of our strategic
planning. The time is now for us all to look around and identify, nurture and
train the next generation of CBI leaders. The future of our congregation is being
envisioned. The need for stakeholders in the future is daunting.
For the task is too heavy for us and we cannot do it alone. go to top
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