One could fill each of these 49 Steps with lessons from leaders in the Tanach, some about what not to do, each one a lesson for leadership in our time.
I have my favourites, like Avraham and Yitzchak who are restrained from human sacrifice, and teach us the value of life. King David wrangles tribes. He chooses Jerusalem as the seat of power, a place with no significance to any one tribe, no riches, no virtue, except that it is in the middle.
Moses learns from Yitro to share responsibility. He creates a system of judges that still exists in our modern court systems around the democratic world – local, regional, and national courts, from small claims to the Supreme Court.
This time of year there is one special moment that resonates with me. Before we begin the journey to Sinai, we read in Torah Shirat Hayam, the Song of the Sea. Look at the text, where the scribe leaves so much white space.
Moses stands by the sea on the other side and sings this song, full of victories and enemies. But in the white space we find a path through the boulders on the seabed, to safety. We step out of the sea to become the Jewish people. We stop on the other side of the sea, in that moment of transition from slavery to freedom, to peoplehood.
We find the courage in the spaces to embrace freedom. We find the humanity between the battles to become leaders throughout the world. Each year, each day, each time we see the white space in the song, we find our voice as the Jewish People. And then Miriam takes her drum and leads the women in song.
Best wishes for a safe and wonderful journey.
