Greatness is for Everyone

I wanted to share a thought on Parshas Devarim that I saw this week that resonated with me. In the parsha, we hear Moshe’s recounting of many events which transpired in the מדבר. In one instance, Moshe describes that he appointed many levels of שרים to step in and take on the burden of judging כלל ישראל because “לא אוכל לבדי שאת עתכם”. There, רש"י explains that this פסוק includes the word “לאמר,” which was, in actuality, Hashem telling Moshe to relay to the people that he was not going to be the שופט. Moshe did not decide this on his own; rather, it was Hashem’s command. The implication of this was that Moshe was fully capable and willing to do it, but Hashem declared that he was not to assume the role.

Why would this be the case? If it were true that Moshe was capable and willing to be the sole שר, why would Hashem have him step aside and have someone necessarily less equipped step in? Rav Moshe Feinstein in Drash Moshe has a beautiful answer to this question. He explains that, in a hypothetical world, if Moshe were to be appointed, it would lead to a counterproductive perception among כלל ישראל. People would see Moshe step up the plate and say to themselves that it makes sense that a person like Moshe, who is so out of our league, achieved a position of leadership and greatness. After all, Moshe was born to be the most exceptional prophet in the history of the world. An individual may say to himself that a small person like themself, however, is nowhere near Moshe, and therefore why should they strive to reach such heights. It could, in turn, discourage them and cause them to lose motivation and put in even less work than they would otherwise. Moshe’s appointment, then, would be counterproductive to כלל ישראל’s mission of reaching great heights.

Rav Moshe explains that when individuals in כלל ישראל saw שרי אלפים, שרי מאות, ושרי עשרות, they saw people like themselves rising to great heights. It reinforced to them that they did not need to be naturally gifted or exceptional to become a מנהיג. They just had to be normal people who put in the work. In Rav Moshe’s words, for a normal person,“גם הוא יש לו להשתדל להיות כגדול,ויתרומם לבו על ידי זה ולא יתייאש לומר שהוא פטור מללמוד כל כך משום שלא אפשר לו להיות גדול, שהוא רואה על ידי המנין שהוא שוה עם הגדול.

I think there are two fundamental points that emerge from this. One of them, as Rav Moshe says, is that people don’t become great because of their natural gifts. People become great because they take what they have and work exceptionally hard. I think a second lesson that emerges from this, though, is that people are naturally inspired by those who they surround themselves with. If an individual surrounds himself with great people, he will look to see what those great people did to succeed and implement those lessons into his own life. I think that for anybody who is interested in continuing to grow, it is worthwhile to reflect on who we surround ourselves with, find the great people in our lives, and try to emulate the characteristics that they tapped into to grow into themselves.

Bezh we should be zoche. A gutten Shabbos!