Activity #2 - Leaders Who Shake Me Up

October 23, 2006

Goal: To begin to explore the topic of leaders with the teens and have them identify leaders in their lives.

Materials: Talmud Berachot 32a text

Implementation:

Opening/Debriefing (10-15 min.)

• Ask students how communication with their Israeli/American peers is going.
• Debrief the opening mifgash activity.
• Ask what students found surprising about what their peers wrote about typical Israeli/American Jewish teens and about themselves.

- Have a teacher take notes from this debriefing and then post some reflections on the forum section of the website.

Text Study (40-45 min.)

- Hand out the following text from Talmud Brachot 32a:

o "Go, get thee down" (Exodus 32:7). The Holy One said to Moses: Go, Moses, get you down from your greatness. It was only because of Israel that I bestowed such greatness upon you. But now that Israel have sinned, what need have I of you? At that Moses' strength was so depleted that he did not have the strength to utter even a single word. But when God said to him, "Let Me be, that I may destroy them" (Deuteronomy 9:14), Moses reasoned: So, the outcome depends on me! At once he rose up and prayed vigorously as he pleaded for mercy... "And now let Me be" (Exodus 32:10). Rabbi Abbahu said: Were Scripture not so explicit, it would have been impossible to say such a thing. For the verse implies that, like a man who grabs hold of his fellow by the garment, Moses, if one dare say it, grabbed hold of the Holy One and brazenly said to Him: Master of the universe, I will not let You be until You pardon and forgive Israel.

o מסכת ברכות פרק ה', עמוד ל"ב א'.

(שמות לב) וידבר ה' אל משה לך רד מאי לך רד אמר רבי אלעזר אמר לו הקדוש ב"ה למשה משה רד מגדולתך כלום נתתי לך גדולה אלא בשביל ישראל ועכשיו ישראל חטאו אתה למה לי מיד תשש כחו של משה ולא היה לו כח לדבר וכיון שאמר (דברים ט) הרף ממני ואשמידם אמר משה דבר זה תלוי בי מיד עמד ונתחזק בתפלה ובקש רחמים... (שמות לב) ועתה הניחה לי ויחר אפי בהם ואכלם ואעשה אותך לגוי גדול וגו' אמר רבי אבהו אלמלא מקרא כתוב אי אפשר לאומרו מלמד שתפסו משה להקדוש ברוך הוא כאדם שהוא תופס את חבירו בבגדו ואמר לפניו רבונו של עולם אין אני מניחך עד שתמחול ותסלח להם:

- Read through the text as a class and explain how the rabbi's play with the source texts from Exodus and Deuteronomy in putting together this midrash. Also provide the context of the Golden Calf incident so students understand the reason that God has given up on the Israelites. (10 min.)

- Divide into hevruta and have study partners discuss the following: (15 min.)

o Who is demonstrating leadership in this text? How so?

o How is leadership defined in this text? What does it take to be a leader?

o Do the leaders welcome their role of leadership or to they resist it? Why?

o Try to relate this text to your own life. Who are the people who help lead you in the right direction? Who are the people who teach you how to stand up for principles? Who shakes you up and grabs you by the collar in a good way?

- Group Discussion: (regroup after hevruta) (15-20 min.)

o Recap questions discussed in hevruta.

o What is your opinion of how this Talmudic text characterizes leaders? Is this a complete picture of a leader? If not, what's missing?

§ Have a teacher write these responses down to become part of a forum entry on the website recapping definitions of leaders.

o Who are some of the leaders in your life? How do they "grab you by the collar" and make you be a better person?

Web Component:

- Ask students to enter the HiBuR website by Thursday, October 26, and submit the name of at least one person who they consider to be a leader and a few sentences of why they chose that person/people. It can be someone they discussed during the text study or someone else.

- On Friday, there will be a link on the website for voting for top leaders. Have teens visit the website between Friday and Monday and vote for their top 3 picks for influential leaders.

o Results from the voting will be compiled and discussed in class on Monday, October 31.

Additional text - Gardner's leadership attributes:

Gardner's leadership attributes

John Gardner studied a large number of North American organizations and leaders and came to the conclusion that there were some qualities or attributes that did appear to mean that a leader in one situation could lead in another. These included:

• Physical vitality and stamina
  Intelligence and action-oriented judgment
  Eagerness to accept responsibility
  Task competence
  Understanding of followers and their needs
  Skill in dealing with people
  Need for achievement
  Capacity to motivate people
  Courage and resolution
  Trustworthiness
  Decisiveness
  Self-confidence
  Assertiveness
  Adaptability/flexibility

John Gardner (1989) On Leadership, New York: Free Press.

In-Class Discussion

Some of Gardner's qualities, for example, are aspects of a person's behaviour, some are skills, and others are to do with temperament and intellectual ability. Like other lists of this nature it is quite long.

ý What happens when someone has some but not all of the qualities?

ý On the other hand, the list is not exhaustive and it is possible that someone might have other ‘leadership qualities'. Find more qualities that are not found on Gardner's list.

ý Try to come to a class consensus to place in order of importance the qualities on Gardner's and/or your additional list. Encourage debate and discussion in order to come to this consensus.

ý Does Gardner's list seem to have any tendency toward a particular gender? If so, which, and how could you write some qualities for the other gender?