• This Week's Torah Portion

As a cantor, I have sat with families after an elderly parent or relative has died and seen their frustration and struggles when the relative has made no preparations for the end of their life. Surviving family members are left with questions like: “Did they want a traditional Jewish funeral?” “What kind of casket were they hoping for?” “Where did they want to be buried?” These urgent questions interfere with the natural process of grieving, adding unnecessary burdens to an already difficult time. When the deceased was also in charge of the household finances, their family may spend days, weeks, or even months chasing down bank accounts, insurance policies, and investments. It’s natural to avoid talking about one’s own death. But there comes a time when one realizes there are more years behind them than ahead, and the grim reality of our limited time on Earth rears its head. While it isn’t an easy conversation, your cantor or rabbi can help guide you through those plans and spare your family and loved ones from having to figure it out after you’re gone. In this week’s portion, Pinchas, we see Moses plan for the future of the Israelites once he’s gone. He asks God to “appoint a leader for the community” so that they won’t be “like sheep that have no shepherd” (Numbers 27:15, 17). God chooses Joshua, son of Nun, and instructs Moses to “invest him with some of your authority” (Numbers 27:20). Joshua won’t take on leadership of the people until they cross over into the Promised Land, but now everybody knows that he’s the person God has picked to lead them once Moses dies. Moses’s request for a successor reveals much about his understanding of leadership. The new leader, he says to God, “shall go out before them and come in before them” (Numbers 27:17). Moses wants his successor to be a literal trailblazer, who goes first to clear the path. The new leader should be an exemplar, modeling bravery and fortitude. But trailblazers can also get too far ahead of their people, wandering toward the horizon alone. Moses clarifies that his successor should also “take them out and bring them in” (Numbers 27:17). Leaders need more than a vision for the future; they need to help their people understand their vision and bring them along in the journey. Moses has done that throughout Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, using every tool in his rhetorical toolbox to inspire, cajole, and threaten the Israelites towards the Promised Land. God orders Moses to “single out” Joshua as his successor, saying: 

“Lay your hand upon him. Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community, and commission him in their sight.” (Numbers 27:18-19) 

This moment becomes the basis for modern rabbinical and cantorial ordination: a laying on of hands by someone already invested with divine authority, making the new rabbi or cantor the next link in our chain of tradition. When I was ordained as a cantor – though back then they used the term “invested” for cantors – Rabbi David Ellenson of blessed memory laid his hands on my head and my shoulders while charging me to keep our traditions alive. In front of my family, friends, and classmates, I was given the sacred charge to lead the Jewish people into the future, to be a shepherd and trailblazer. That moment connected my ordination with all Jewish leaders going back to Moses and Joshua, as well as to all the rabbis and cantors who will follow me into the future.  Moses’s succession planning in this chapter demonstrates his qualities as both trailblazer and shepherd. He establishes the first non-hereditary leadership transition, handing the reins to a man who isn’t his son. Moses also marks the succession publicly, letting all the Israelites see the peaceful transition of power. His choice to establish a successor is also a beautiful moment of humility and grace. Moses both acknowledges his mortality and moves beyond it. He could have ignored the fact of his own eventual death and acted as though he’d be able to lead the Israelites forever. By making a plan, he acknowledges a story greater than his own and establishes a bridge between his own chapter in Jewish history and all those who will follow him. Organizing our affairs before we’re gone is a gift we can offer our families and loved ones, allowing them to mourn unencumbered by the many details and decisions that come with one’s passing. You could make your will, ensuring that your loved ones know how you want your assets treated. You could write an ethical will, weaving the lessons you learned throughout your life into a document for your descendants. You might purchase a burial plot and pre-pay for burial expenses, so your family doesn’t need to scramble for cash amidst their grief. Perhaps it’s time for you to start planning your funeral with the help of your clergy or partner. It may also be time for you to start one of these conversations with a beloved family member or loved one. Moses starts the conversation about succession planning with God, rather than the other way around. He understands and accepts his fate, the same that awaits all of us. No matter how he feels about his impending death, he knows that the future of the Israelite people rests in his hands. Moses may have faced down the most fearsome tyrant in the ancient world, led his people through miracles and wonders, and gone from prince to pauper to prophet, but this moment is truly his greatest act of bravery.