Leadership as Fatherhood: Lessons from Rav Shneur Kotler zt"l

This yahrzeit shiur for Rav Shneur Kotler zt"l explores the fundamental distinction between two types of leadership through a careful analysis of Rashi (רש"י)'s commentary on the Egyptian shotrim. In Parshas Naso, Rashi identifies the nesiim (princes) who dedicated the Mishkan as the shotrim who were beaten in place of Bnei Yisrael. In Parshas Va'eschanan, when discussing the seventy elders, Rashi adds the detail that these shotrim "had rachmanus" on the Jewish people. Rabbi Zweig explains that there were actually two different types of shotrim. The first type took achrayus (responsibility) and tried to fulfill Pharaoh's impossible demands, getting beaten when they failed to produce results. These became the nesiim - leaders through responsibility. The second type saw the impossibility of the task and chose not to even push the people, preferring to be beaten themselves rather than cause suffering to Klal Yisrael. These became the seventy elders - leaders through fatherly compassion.