Fire and Cloud: Lessons in Leadership

 

In Parshat Behaalotecha we learn about the DPS that the Jews utilized in during their time in the Midbar. That’s right- DPS: Divine Positioning System. As the Torah states: “On the day the Mishkan was erected, the cloud covered the Mishkan, which was a tent for the Testimony, and at evening, there was over the Mishkan like an appearance of fire, [which remained] until morning.” In order to know when to travel and where to travel to, a pillar of cloud hovered over the Mishkan during the day and a pillar of fire at night. At three junctures in the Torah we are told about the cloud and the fire as part of a Divine Guidance System:  At Yetziat Mitzrayim in Parshat Beshalach at the inauguration of the Mishkan in Parshat Pekudei, and as Bnai Yisrael make their way to Eretz Yisrael- our reference here in Behaalotecha The cloud and the pillar accompany the Jewish People along their national journey from Egypt to Israel. What were their significance? The fire provided light. It led the way so that the People would know where to go. During the day, you don’t need a fire, as the sun accomplishes that task. Instead, the cloud was there “to lead them”. The people may have known which way they needed to travel, yet the cloud was still necessary as a source of encouragement.

Sometimes we need to be led and exposed to ideas and perspectives that we would otherwise not have known. At such times we need the pillar of fire; illuminating an otherwise dark and mysterious path. At other times the path is clearly delineated. We know what needs to be done and we know how to go about doing it. But we’re reluctant. We’re scared. We see others not going down this path, and begin to second guess ourselves. Perhaps we don’t feel like standing out. At those times in life we turn to the amud he’anan, the cloud, to provide encouragement and remind us that we are not alone in this journey.

Summer marks travel season for many of us. As we embark on our journeys, let us recall the lessons of the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud, and allow them to accompany us along all of our life journeys.