Moses knew the feeling. Leading the Israelites through the desert? No small feat! And it seems even he needed a little help.
We find ourselves in Bamidbar Rabbah 15, a section of the ancient Midrash Rabbah, specifically concerning the book of Numbers. The verse in question is Numbers 11:17: "I will descend and speak." But what's so special about this descent?
According to the Midrash, this moment – the appointment of the elders to assist Moses – was as beloved to God as the giving of the Torah itself. Think about that for a second. It's a pretty bold statement, right? The giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, a pivotal moment in Jewish history, compared to…delegating responsibility?
The Midrash draws a parallel. Just as God descended on the third day before the eyes of all the people (Exodus 19:11) to give the Torah, so too does God "descend" in a manner of speaking, to authorize the sharing of Moses's burden. It’s about recognizing the need for collaboration.
Now, the Midrash uses a parable, a mashal, to illustrate the point. Imagine a king who hires a guard to watch his orchard, paying him handsomely. The guard, overwhelmed, asks for assistants. The king agrees, but with a caveat: their wages will come from the guard's own salary.
What does this mean? God, essentially, tells Moses: "I imbued you with spirit and knowledge to sustain My children, and I did not seek another." You were chosen, Moses, for this very task. But because you request help, that help will come from the spirit already within you, not from some external source. "I will draw from the spirit that is upon you," God says.
It’s not a punishment, but a clarification. The elders will receive their wisdom and ability from Moses himself. He remains the source, the leader, even as he shares the load.
And did Moses lose anything by sharing his spirit? No! As we see later, at the end of forty years, God tells Moses, "Take to you Joshua, the son of Nun…. You shall confer from your grandeur upon him" (Numbers 27:18, 20). And Deuteronomy 34:9 tells us, "And Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, as Moses had placed his hands upon him." Moses’s spirit wasn’t diminished, it was amplified, extended.
Rabbi Tanhuma ben Rabbi Abba takes this idea even further. He suggests that while in this world, only select individuals prophesied, in the World to Come, all of Israel will become prophets. "Thereafter, it will be that I will pour My spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy; your elders…" (Joel 3:1). Imagine a world where everyone has access to that divine spark!
So, what’s the takeaway? Perhaps it’s about recognizing our own limitations and being willing to share the burden. Maybe it’s about understanding that leadership isn't about hoarding power, but about empowering others. And perhaps, just perhaps, it's about glimpsing a future where the divine spirit isn’t confined to a select few, but flows freely among us all. What would that world look like?