In Pinchas, this week’s Torah portion, we see Moshe starting the process of transferring leadership to Yehoshua. There we read:

And the Lord answered Moshe, “Single out Yehoshua son of Nun, an inspired man, and lay your hand upon him. Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community, and commission him in their sight. Invest him with some of your authority, so that the whole Israelite community may obey.” ( Numbers 27:18-20)

Yehoshua’s assent to power is a clear juxtaposition to Pinchas who the Torah portion is names. Pinchas took power in his own hands when killing Zimri and Cozbi at the end of last week’s Torah portion. It also stands against Korach’s failed rebellion a few weeks ago. In comparison to Pinchas and Korach we see that Yehoshua is eased into his role by Moshe. God instruct Moshe to invest in him his authority so that the people will start seeing him in the role of successor. It is hard to imagine trying to fill those shoes.

Most of history has been plagued by violent transfers of leadership marked by Pinchas-like acts of aggression and Korach-like rebellions. One could even say that the health of a society can be measured by the peaceful transfer of power. Like Yehoshua, John Adams, a remarkable political philosopher, served as the second President of the United States (1797-1801), after serving as the first Vice President under President George Washington. Our first president, George Washington chose not to try to be elected for a third term. Power is alluring. It takes huge strength and inner fortitude to make room for others so they can grow into leadership, but ultimately it is for the best.

In light of this week’s events, I wanted to take a moment to praise President Biden for stepping back for the benefit of country and party. It is still to be determined if Kamala Harris will take over like Yehoshua, but we should all praise this over a Pinchas style insurrection we saw on January 6th. It is yet to be determined if the Democratic Party will unify behind Harris or will see a Korach style Democratic National Convention.

-See Dara Z. Klarfeld‘s piece on a related topic- The Courage to Step Aside: Leadership and Organizational Growth

-See related posts on Yehoshua and on followership here