We are coming out of the festival of Sukkot. To be honest, it is an oft-ignored holiday. It matches neither the trembling awe of the theme of freedom from Passover, nor the exhilarating celebration of victory in the lights of Chanukah. These two holidays could summarize what we want in an epic and idealistic event that would change our lives: freedom, independence, spiritual salvation and human leadership. But Sukkot has its own dimension. For some reason, it embodies our Messianic ideal:
“And from the remnant of all the nations, they will come up to Jerusalem, every year, to bow down to the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to celebrate the Festival of Sukkot” (Zechariah 14).
This is the supposed aftermath of Armageddon: Our messiah will usher in an era of peace. The nations of the world will come to us for guidance and seek the advice of our leaders. This is the Messianic Era. Therefore, maybe it should tell us the most about what we expect from our leaders.
So what do Jews need in a leader? What does Israel expect in a messiah? A single man will rebuild our prestige in the image of whatever is right. Alternatively, no single individual could achieve it, but some political ideal will finally be realized. On this issue, I think we can see the most prime example of how our religion and its people have become so divided. Those two views aren’t contradictory, but we think they are.
These beliefs are wrapped up in how we see Jewish politics. Even while ascribing to one view more than the other, I think the way we treat the idea is often childish. We idealize this type of figure and from there judge his feasibility or infallibility. The mistake is to see this Messiah as something more than human, and that is where we fail to see the limits of human possibility and fallibility. I have met too many people who consider the Messiah an unprecedented sort of human being with no pitfalls as a character. I have met people who do not believe there ever will be one, because they believe the Messiah indeed is supposed to reflect that perfection. It is hard to attribute either view to the man. Humans will often fail, and the stories of supposed supermen are often clouded by challenges and drawbacks.
Debating theology here is a key to debating what we need politically. We don’t have leaders who are perfect or are universally adored. I don’t think we ever will. From here I establish my view of the Messiah. From here I establish my view of leadership.
The gulf between effective leadership and Jews is incredibly large. There are endless programs reaching out to Jews, urging them to become leaders in some way. But none of these initiatives cloud the fact the Jewish world is lacking a good one, between distrusted politicians and philanthropists throwing money at problems facing the Jewish world. Attacking problems and building on success are a couple things we could use, but ultimately we need someone that we trust. Only then will the nations of the world trust him too.
