{"id":52717,"date":"2019-03-31T22:21:05","date_gmt":"2019-03-31T19:21:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=52717"},"modified":"2019-03-31T22:21:05","modified_gmt":"2019-03-31T19:21:05","slug":"alternative-nurturing-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/alternative-nurturing-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Alternative Nurturing Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"52717","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":38437,"related_cahpter":"2005","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Numbers 20:1,2 - And Miriam died there and was buried there. And there was no water for the congregation...\u201d","content":"

Through the juxtaposition of these two reports, the midrash unearths Miriam\u2019s well, an entity that cannot be found in the text of the Torah, but one that becomes synonymous with Miriam in Jewish text and lore. Why was there no water for the congregation when Miriam died? It\u2019s because her presence is associated with a miraculous well that accompanied the Israelites through the desert as long as Miriam was alive. Each time the tribes settle, the well sinks into the center of the camp and gushes forth rivers that nourish and sustain the thirsty and weary wanderers.<\/span><\/p>\n

The interpretive space between these two verses demands of us some work and imagination to access hidden truths. While the Torah portrays leadership as a solitary prophet on the mountaintop, the \u00a0midrashic well offers the images of a leader who literally emerges from amongst the community. While Moses strikes the rock in anger to bring forth water, legend tells us that Miriam\u2019s well was coaxed to provide water through song.<\/span><\/p>\n

Miriam\u2019s well emerged from the art of exegesis, which enabled the rabbis to imagine an alternative form of leadership. \u00a0Just as Miriam and her well are celebrated by the midrash as courageous, nurturing and sustaining forces of the Exodus, so should we amplify such leadership in our own community. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When we speak of a broken \u201cleadership pipeline\u201d in the Jewish community, maybe we are only looking for leaders who stand on the top of mountains. What if we, like the rabbis, engaged more imaginatively in our understanding of the communal landscape? We may just find hiding in plain sight leaders who sustain, build, and strengthen our communities just like Miriam\u2019s well. <\/span><\/p>\n

Let us appreciate and celebrate these leaders as the vital forces and change agents that they are in our community. <\/span><\/p>\n

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