Vayakhel: How Do Great Leaders Unite A People?

How do great leaders unite a people?

How do we create cohesion and unity in our own family?

What does it take to build successful teams at work?

No two people think alike. Researchers have established that our brains have the same level of uniqueness as our fingerprints. Our default position seems to be in our uniqueness and individuality.

How then can we be expected to reconcile our differences?

This week’s Torah portion opens with such an attempt. On the day after He descends from Mount Sinai, we read that “Moses assembled the whole Israelite community”.

He achieves this only because he is able to inspire the Jewish people to share his vision of building a sanctuary for G-d in this world. Moses is able to unite all the people by infusing them with a sense of purpose greater then themselves.

Human beings are distinct. No two minds are the same. Each one of us has had a different life experience which in turn has shaped our lives in a unique way.

Notwithstanding the above we have all been charged and empowered to fulfil a common purpose. This is our life’s mission towards which we must focus all our energies and resources, and align our interests.

It is only once we succeed in infusing our own lives with our mission and purpose, that we can galvanise our own disparate parts into a powerful cohesive force for good.

The same is true with leadership. It is only when one can articulate a clear vision of a cause greater then any of the sum parts, that one can hope to unify a nation.

A cause which inspires each individual to recognise, respect and celebrate the unique contribution of every individual. A cause which shapes our very identity.