A Leadership Question

by Audrey Lichter

What is it about the human being that craves a leader? I just returned from an African safari, and learned that animals, too, crave leadership and will fight to maintain it.  Scott Shay, in his seminal work on the defense of monotheism, warns us against ascribing power and authority to finite things, whether the elements, animals or people, which he calls modern-day idolatry.

I’ve been thinking a lot about leadership lately, having read two books about two men who possessed the ability to lead multitudes. Hitler’s Charisma: Leading Millions into the Abyss by Laurence Rees. In it he describes Hitler’s rise to power, his awkwardness in person, but his ability to sway opinions and command thousands through his messaging and oratory prowess. The other book about Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson: Becoming the Messiah by Ezra Glinter, describes a learned and somewhat reclusive person who became the 7th Rebbe of the Chassidic Chabad community and transformed it into a global empire. Both men were leaders, and both became idols to the masses. Some Chabad believe that Menachem Schneerson is indeed the Messiah. 

What can we learn about human nature from studying these two men? How do we know when we follow someone that we are headed toward the abyss or towards the light? For Scott Shay, the trap of ascribing supernational powers to any finite thing will eventually lead us to the abyss. He makes the case (in almost 500 hundred pages of examples) that it is rational to be a monotheist, and indeed all other roads have eventually failed us.  In fact, he affirms that the first commandments: I am the Lord thy God;  Thou shalt have no other Gods but me;  and Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain are safeguards against making oneself an idol or using God as a justification for our hubris. 

…perhaps the practical need for leadership seems to be baked into our DNA.

Recognizing the desire for a leader and perhaps the practical need for leadership seems to be baked into our DNA. This seems reasonable. However, we must be ever-vigilant about how this desire can lead us into the dark abyss. Perhaps the fundamental principles of our great religious beliefs can, if followed as intended, be our guide.