Decisions
A Message for Parashat Pinehas 2018
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Several years ago, the well-known author
Malcom Gladwell analyzed the various ways that we make decisions. His
interest was piqued after he chose, on a whim, to grow his hair long. He first
got several speeding tickets, which he had never before received. Then he
realized that he was increasingly pulled out on airport security lines for
extra questioning. And he finally understood what was happening when he found
himself surrounded by several police officers in downtown Manhattan on one
particular day. The men told Gladwell that they were looking for a rapist who
looked like him. Glancing at the sketch, he quickly pointed out that the man in
the picture was much taller, heavier and younger than he. Gladwell realized,
however, the one physical attribute that they held in common: a large head of
curly hair. Understanding the effect of the first impressions caused by the
length of his hair, he was struck by the power of those “blink decisions” to
our lives and set out to study the different decisions that we make.[1]
Haste makes waste. Look before you leap. Stop
and think. Don’t judge a book by its cover. These principles which we were
taught as children are sometimes right but other times not. Gladwell noted, for
example, that many different professions and disciplines have a word to
describe the gift of reading deeply into the narrow slivers of experience. He
pointed to the “court sense” of basketball players who can quickly take in and
comprehend all that is happening around them, and the “coup d’oeil” (“power of
glance”) of generals who can immediately see and make sense of the entire
battlefield. The ability to instantly break down and read a situation is often
necessary for rendering the most effective decision.[2]
As a dignitary from Am Yisrael publicly
sinned at the opening of Ohel Mo’ed, Moshe and the nation were stunned
to inactivity. Pinehas, in contrast, sprung into action upon sight:
And
Pinehas, son of Elazar, son of Aharon the kohen saw and he rose from the
community…”
(Bemidbar 25:7).
God placed His stamp of approval upon
Pinehas’s decision and action, rewarding him with the covenant of kehunah,
as detailed at the onset of this week’s parashah.
At a later juncture in the parashah,
God informed Moshe of his imminent death. Moshe then inquired about the
nation’s future leadership, as he requested of God:
“Let the Lord, God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man
over the community, who will go out before them and come in before them and who
will lead them in and out on the march…” (27:16-17)
Moshe was seemingly inspired at this time by
his knowledge of the battles that lay ahead in conquering the Land. Instead of
requesting a man who was endowed with a power of insight or depth of
perception, Moshe simply asked for a leader who would stand at the front of the
people on their march in and out of war. Perhaps the image of Pinehas flashed
through Moshe’s mind as he envisioned the future leader in the form of a man
who was charged by instinctive decisions and immediate action.
God responded to Moshe:
“Take you Yehoshua bin Nun, a man who has spirit within him,
and lay your hand upon him…And you shall set something of your grandeur upon
him…” (27:18, 20)
Following Moshe’s description of Him as the
controller of “the spirits of all flesh,” God described Yehoshua as “a
man who has spirit within him.” He broadened Moshe’s narrow conception
of the future leadership by highlighting Yehoshua’s “spirit,” which would
necessarily compliment his military acumen. God then instructed Moshe to rest
his hand upon Yehoshua in a symbolic transfer of his grandeur. His message was
clear: Am Yisrael cannot be led by an individual who is singularly
driven by the Pinehas-like quality of “blink decisions.” The leader must exhibit,
as well, the Moshe-like quality of deliberate and thoughtful management of the
people.
Malcolm Gladwell wrote that he is oftentimes
asked, “When should we trust our instincts, and when should we consciously
think things through?”[3]
There is, of course, no simple answer. God’s message to Moshe, however, reminds
us to search for a balance. While we must sometimes “blink” like Pinehas, we
should other times “think” like Moshe.
[1] Malcom Gladwell, Blink:
The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (New York, NY, 2007), pg. 284-5.
[2] Gladwell, pg. 44.
[3] Gladwell, pg. 267.