Simchat Torah & OST

Chris Kloth kloth at got2change.com
Sat Sep 28 14:38:17 PDT 2002


I have just returned from synagogue.  Today is Simchat Torah, a holiday that
ends the "high holy days" season.  One of the traditions of Judaism that I
have come to value is that we read the 5 books of Moses as a complete cycle
every year.  I am always amazed at how reading "the same old story" in the
context of the emerging story of personal and global life brings me new
insights about both the old story and the emerging story.  Anyway, Simchat
Torah is the holiday that celebrates this cyclical tradition by finishing
Deuteronomy and starting Genesis.

What this all has to do with OST is that at the end of Deuteronomy is where
Moses sees the promised, passes leadership to Joshua and dies.  After
leading the Israelites out of Egypt, spending all those years in the desert
and coming to the mountaintop Moses does not get to the Promised Land.

It occurs to me that in some respects Moses "opened space" and could not be
attached to the outcomes.  We could spend lots of time analyzing other parts
of the story (from Genesis to Deuteronomy) for examples of times when Moses
learned lessons when his behavior was more or less consistent with what we
might consider the core values of OST.  Today my choice is to focus on how
"opening space" for a community or nation or planet requires great endurance
and courage, including the willingness to take risks and learn from
mistakes.  It also requires the willingness to let go of attachment to the
outcomes chosen by the people in the community.

Parenthetically, in Exodus 18.3 - 18.26 there is one of the lessons that
Moses had to learn.  The Israelites are out in the desert.  They see Moses
as their leader and he sees himself as their (at times reluctant) leader.
Anyway, they have a nifty codependent system set up.  Everyone brings his or
her problems to Moses because he is wise and, when necessary, has access to
the top guy.  If they like his answers they praise him and if they don't
like his answers they blame him.  Of course he is complicit in sustaining
this system.he feels so responsible that he accepts all requests and
provides all answers.

As a result of creating this great codependent system he finds himself in
another classic leadership dilemma: an out of balance work and family life.
Jethro, his father-in-law and a non-Jew, pays him a visit.  Jethro tells him
that if he expects to keep his wife and any kind of family life he better
work this out.  Jethro also advises Moses that there are lots of very smart
Israelites that could probably deal with most of the problems without his
help.if he would just open up the space for them to do so.

As near as I can tell this may be one of the earliest references to
participative leadership in history or literature (you pick which).

Chris Kloth
Senior Partner
ChangeWorks of the Heartland
250 South Virginialee Road
Columbus, OH 43209-2052
telephone - 614-239-1336 x 1
fax - 614-239-1337
e-mail - chris at got2change.com
www.got2change.com

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