© Copyright Rod Trevaskus and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons License.

Imagine two people in a room, sitting in chairs facing one another. One wall of the room is painted black and has no windows. The opposite wall is painted yellow, has multicolored artwork hanging from it and several windows. The two people who are sitting opposite one another are asked to describe the room. The first person proceeds to describe a brightly painted room, with colorful artwork and a view to the outside through several windows. The second person is able to describe the room in three words, “dark without windows.” They each look at each other with a puzzled look. Are they both sitting in the same room?

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Dear Readers,

I hope that you had a very happy and meaningful Chanukah.  I am currently spending time in Israel and preparing for the launch of my new book in early 2012. I will return to blogging the week of January 16th.

Here’s to a happy, healthy and successful new year!

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Hayim Herring

From Sarah Ross on flickr

In America, where Chanukah is often perceived as the “Jewish Christmas,” there’s a tendency to universalize the message of the holiday. You’ve probably heard Chanukah referred to as a victory for religious freedom, with the few (Maccabees) defeating the many (Syrian Hellenists). While it’s actually not quite that simple, there is a legitimately universal insight that we can draw from Chanukah: when leaders become distant, expect popular rebellion.

Chanukah was every bit as much of a civil war as it was a war of the Jews against a Syrian oppressor. The religious leadership in Jerusalem had become corrupt and violated essential tenets of Jewish faith. They had become elites, who believed themselves entitled to make any changes they desired. They no longer believed that they were accountable to God or to the people who had entrusted them with their spiritual well being. They became oblivious to the reality on the ground.

Does this story sound familiar? It does seem to be universal today. The global “Occupy” protest movement is just one modern manifestation. Social protests against the recent Russian elections are another.  The fighting between the Egyptian military and civilians, and the brutal dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad in Syria against a people that is no longer willing to accept authoritarian rule are yet other dark examples.

But these modern day rebellions have a new feature that did not exist in the time of the Maccabees. Today, when leaders act corruptly or brutally, their actions are likely to be quickly broadcast worldwide via social media networks. Social media contribute to transparency in leadership, increasing the likelihood of protest when leaders stray from their responsibilities. If you’re in a position of leadership, Chanukah offers a perfect opportunity to reflect on how close or distant you are to the people that you are entrusted to lead.

From "Suttonhoo" on flickr

If you’re in a position of leadership, and you feel satisfied for long stretches of time, then you may not really be leading. While leaders know how to celebrate achievements, they are always looking ahead to the next unresolved issue or new opportunity. Good leaders are genuinely positive about the work that they do and inspire others with their optimism. But, they are not satisfied with the status quo for too long.

According to one commentator on this week’s Torah reading, Vayeshev (Gen. 37:1-40:23), the Biblical patriarch, Jacob, is rebuked by God for trying to settle down. As Rashi writes on Gen. 37:2: “This righteous person seeks to dwell in tranquility. Said the Holy One, ‘What is prepared for the righteous in the world to come is not sufficient for them, but they seek [also] to dwell in tranquility in this world!’”

What’s the argument behind this comment? Jacob, as God’s designated heir to the covenant and leader of the Jewish people, will have ultimate, eternal tranquility in the afterlife. But in this life, his unending task is to be God’s instrument through which the covenant is fulfilled, and that requires Jacob to have a mentality of movement and not stasis, or settling down.

At its core, then, leadership means thinking and working toward the next challenge, even when you find yourself thinking: “Wouldn’t it be nice to settle down a bit?” So, ask yourself, are you satisfied with your achievements? If so, by all means celebrate it, but even as you’re doing so, focus on the next issue that is bothering you. Just as oysters turn irritants into pearls, there is another gem of an idea just waiting for your creative leadership.

B’shalom,

Rabbi Hayim Herring

From Fox-Photography_VE on flickr

Imagine that you’re a Jewish Israeli citizen who was born, raised and is living in Israel. Because you have family members living in the United States and you care about them, you follow the news in America with some regularity.

Over the past several years, despite changes in presidential administrations, you’ve become increasingly worried for your American mishpacha. Americans seem to have one foreign policy approach: wage war (either overtly or covertly); and one response to domestic issues: cut taxes. Public bigotry seems to be tolerated, if the rate at which gays and lesbians are demonized is any indication. Individual liberties have been curtailed because of the Patriot Act and social protest movements don’t seem to be tolerated well.

Many of the Republican candidates seeking the presidency seem to have been named after the cartoon character Dopey (one of the dwarfs in Snow White) and while President Obama would make a great orator-in- chief, he certainly doesn’t know about leadership. And at times he seems ambivalent about your own country: Israel. While you never planned to live in the United States, you’ve visited it periodically. You used to admire it, but now, you’re not so sure….America seems morally and politically adrift. It is starting to remind you of other broken democracies in the West.

You can substitute some of the facts and names, but that’s how many American Jews increasingly feel about Israel. (See blogger and columnist, Jeffrey Goldberg, for three big concerns that American Jews have about Israel in an article entitled, How Israel Can Stop Alienating American Jews.) At a time when there’s an external international effort to undermine Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, some Israeli leaders seem hell bent on making political choices that are internally destructive. Internal and external dynamics then feed off of one another, further fueling these crises.

So what should Jewish leaders who love Israel do? First, leaders have to be honest. That means while expressing their love, they also have to name the issues that trouble them. Second, they have to provide context and nuance for discussions. If they can accomplish these two acts, then they create a condition for a discussion where divergent points of view are heard. They can model that being clear in your own positions doesn’t negate the need to hear other points of view. Finally, leaders need to remember and remind others of the adage that, “no one ever built a statue to a critic.” If you’re ready to criticize, then be ready to get to work to improve the situation.

B’shalom,

Rabbi Hayim Herring

Flickr: jepoirrier

Did you ever suspect that some leaders fear success more than they do failure?  If they aim high and hit their target once, how can they possibly replicate the last success next time? And especially if they do, won’t people start to have ever higher expectations of them?

Because of that fear, these kinds of leaders learn to play it safe or take mild risks at most. As a result, they never reach their own potential and even worse, they don’t help a community develop its capacity for greatness. I’m not sure who coined the phrase, “the fear of falling up,” but it certainly captures this attitude toward the apprehension of the consequences of success.

In one midrash (rabbinic commentary) on a famous scene in this week’s Torah portion (Vayetze, Genesis 28:10-32:3), we find an acknowledgment of this very fear. The Biblical partriarch, Jacob, envisions angels ascending and descending a ladder to heaven. According to this midrash, God beckons Jacob to climb the ladder, but Jacob declines. He reasons that he will eventually have to descend, so why risk the climb? He does not consider that although he will have to descend, who is to say that he won’t be able to climb to the top again?

Jewish leaders-and indeed all leaders-can follow two basic paths. They can be content to reach for the “low hanging fruit” and play it safe. Or, they can exercise genuine leadership, and “reach for the stars,” acknowledging that they will only reach them some of the time. What kind of leader do you aspire to be?

B’shalom,

Rabbi Hayim Herring

From stoneysteiner on flickr

Do you multitask? Come on, be honest!  By multitasking, I mean performing multiple tasks simultaneously, like talking on the phone, responding to e-mails and tidying your desk at the same time. I admit that I multitask, but not as much as I used to. And, it’s my goal to continue to reduce how frequently I multitask.

Good leadership requires intense focus. Naturally, leaders have to deal with multiple opportunities and challenges. But when leaders are so overloaded that they feel like they must respond to e-mails while on the phone, grab a meal or return phone calls while driving, and sleep with their smart phones because they never have enough time, they are living in a perpetual danger zone. Not only is multitasking unhealthy, but multitasking diminishes efficiency.

Apparently, divine angels know about the risks of multitasking. During these past couple of weeks, the Torah readings included the presence of angels. According to Jewish tradition, each angel is assigned to only one task at a time. Their work is so critical that it requires intense focus. Whether or not you believe in angels, in an age where multitasking has become an acceptable more, it’s good to act like one and focus fully on what you’re doing while you are doing it. You’ll be happier with the quality of your work and more productive.

B’shalom,

Rabbi Hayim Herring

From Jeffrey Hamilton/Getty Images

Note to reader:  Preston Neal is a principal consultant for the Herring Consulting Network.  He is guest-authoring this week’s blog post.

The amount of the charitable deduction allowance in the Federal tax code for high-income taxpayers has been the subject of much debate in recent months.  At the crux of the debate is a conflict of two competing Jewish values:  empowerment of the individual and encouraging tzedakah (righteous giving).

For those who are unfamiliar with the issue, when President Obama introduced his American Jobs Act in September, he proposed paying for the measure, in part, with a 28% cap on itemized deductions, including the charitable deduction, for taxpayers earning over $200,000.  The lower cap on the charitable deduction has already met stiff opposition in congress, but the so-called “Super Committee” of 12 congressmen tasked with reducing the budget deficit may yet decide to include the cap in its recommendations to Congress and the President scheduled for the end of this month.

Even if the cap were to pass Congress and be signed into law (which looks unlikely), does that necessarily mean that there would be a negative impact on giving?  Not necessarily.  According to a survey of 502 American donors by Fidelity Charitable, “Two-thirds of donors (64 percent)…agree that charitable tax deductions have no impact on their giving.­”

Yet philanthropic organizations, including Jewish ones, are staunchly opposed to the capping of the charitable deduction tax at 28% for the fear that it will negatively impact their missions.

Thus, we have a competition of different Jewish values in this debate.  On the one hand, the mitzvah (commandment) of tzedakah is of great importance in our tradition.  On the other hand, the commandment of tzedakah comes from the Torah, which does not say anything about needing tax incentives from the IRS.  Furthermore, the president proposed this cap on the charitable deduction to help pay for his jobs plan, which also includes tax incentives for non-profits who hire long-term unemployed individuals and veterans.  Surely, job creation and the empowering of the individual is a value upheld in our tradition as well.

What do you think about the proposed cap on the charitable deduction?  Should Jewish organizations support the cap for its potential to help create jobs or oppose it for its potential to negatively impact tzedakah in our philanthropic institutions?  Please share your thoughts in the comments.

B’shalom,

Preston Neal

Did you ever try to drive without a rear view mirror? What about driving with one of your side view mirrors sadly dangling from the doorframe? Or, have you had the experience of driving with an annoying crack in your front windshield or with your rear windshield covered with fog?

Over the years, I’ve had all of these experiences. (I remember, especially, the time when a certain family member dislodged the driver’s side view mirror while backing out of the garage, and then proceeded to blow a hole in the tire while driving in reverse over it—not recommended!)

None of these problems with windshields and mirrors are beneficial and, while they can be repaired, they are often costly and dangerous. They create unsafe driving conditions because while a good driver spends the majority of time looking ahead, he or she also has to look to either side and observe what’s coming up from behind.

And that’s what leadership is: spending some time understanding your organization’s past, being aware of what other organizations on either side of you are doing now, and primarily leading confidently and safely to the next destination.

If you’re a leader, ask yourself:

1. How much energy do you spend mired in your organization’s past?
2. How much time do you worry about what others to the right or left of you are saying?
3. How much effort do you give to achieving your next big goal?

Within the Jewish community, we need fewer leaders who spend time reliving a past that is not returning. We need fewer leaders who move too timidly because they are concerned about what those around them will say if they take a new route. We need leaders who, while sensitive to hindsight and peripheral vision, know that their primary task is to look ahead and give confidence to those whom they lead to do so as well.

We are the Biblical Abraham and Sarah’s spiritual heirs, whom God commanded lekh lekhah–journey forth. We can draw upon their courage and confidently move ahead into the future, even if we don’t have complete knowledge of where we are going. That’s what faith is ultimately about. Like Abraham, authentic leaders look ahead.

B’shalom,

Rabbi Hayim Herring