Moral Leadership Bootcamp

Have you ever wondered who this famous "Josephus" is, who is so often quoted here and, in fact, all over the place? In this episode we take a deep-dive into the life of one of the most influential Jews of all time, like him or not-- we'll talk about the drama that surrounded Josephus during his life and that has shadowed his legacy for two millennia. And, as always, we will end with a practical lesson for our own experiences as moral leaders.

Here we take a brief break from the exploration of mishnaic personalities to look back on the whole Second Temple period. If we take the time period as a whole, what are the major lessons that history is begging us to learn? What happened when we lost everything that we thought we stood for, as a nation? Why does the month of destruction - Av - lead right into the month of return - Elul - and what lessons can we learn for our own Avodah?

The Temple is on the brink of destruction, and Jerusalem is overrun with Romans, traitors, turncoats, and brigands. One man has the courage to stand up and take action. In this episode we will learn not only what he did, as the sole hero of the time period, but also how that decision FELT in his own inner world.

In this episode, we get so caught up in the history of the fall of the Second Temple that we run out of blessed time to speak about Chazal's rendition of events. But no worries! After all, there's always next episode! As for now... you've always said "churban bayis", "the destruction of the Temple", but with only vague and fuzzy memories of exactly what went down, and how, and by whom, and why the whole thing actually matters, anyway. Here, we deep dive into history and meet the bad guys (where are the good guys?!), see what happens in Judea and in Jerusalem, and learn some incredibly important lessons from the surface of history. Next time, we will jump into the very few segments of the story that Chazal bring to our attention, and what they teach us about moral leadership. "Happy" (??!!) listening!

What's the difference between leaders to whom we owe something as the Jewish people... and leaders to whom we "owe" the destruction of the Temple? As we get closer to the Churban Bayis, the themes that Chazal want us to pay attention to become ever more clear.... In this episode, we meet Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel. We discuss both his accomplishments but also how he is uniquely symbolic of a shift in the Jewish people, one which Chazal want us to pay close attention to, and for good reason.

In this episode, we revisit the historical period that we delved into six weeks ago: the reign of Caligula and the fascinating and incredible "miracle" that saved the Jewish people. Why was this story forgotten? And what can the most incredible recorded instance of Jewish unity teach us about moral leadership?

Here we address one of the strangest, most incredible, and almost entirely forgotten events of Jewish history. It's an inspirational story and it SHOULD have a powerful take-home message to us, especially learning it right after Purim, and especially in the 21st century-- but can we decipher what that message is?!

In this episode we take a 400+ year detour back in time to explore a little bit about the Purim story -- and what, historically, the end of Adar used to be devoted to. We'll learn about the essential characteristic that differentiates Jewish monarchs- the quintessential leaders- from the rest of us, and weigh in about Judaism's (surprising) conceptualization of fate vs. destiny.

We continue with our ambition to meet the leaders -- both righteous and vicious -- of the Second Temple period, and no epoch is more poignant than this one. We have the contrast of Herod, "King of the Jews" -- ruthless but relentlessly competent -- with Hillel HaZakein, whom we remember for his humility and modesty over 2,000 years into the future. In what other leadership qualities can these two men be compared, and what difference does it make in the history of the Jewish people? Join us to find out!

Somehow, our journey through the Second Temple period is still continuing to progress from bad to worse. In this episode we are audience to an all-out civil war between two Hasmonean brothers, and we meet their foils as the religious leadership of the nation, Shmaya and Avtalyon. And all throughout we ask ourselves: what are the essential characteristics of a leader, anyway? And how can this small segment of history weigh in to educate us in our debate?

We are still trying to survive the lives and times of the Hasmonean Kings following the Chanukah story... In this episode we meet Shimon ben Shetach and his sister Shlomtzion, who happens to be married to the reigning Hasmonean monarch, Alexander Yannai... Will family connections finally aid in uniting the political and religious powers of the newly-expanded Judean state? Watch as an eternal leadership value materializes through Shimon ben Shetach's life, times, and teachings: Leaders Own Ownership.

What was the reign of the Hasmonean kings like? What happened when military victory was achieved, when prosperity actually came to the land? Here we explore two great fissures in Jewish history; one at large, and one within the lives of our two main characters in this part of the drama of the Second Temple, from which we will learn our lesson for the day. Have you ever watched a master stonecutter do his job? You should. Either way, we'll learn from one today.

In this episode, we take a deep dive into the life of Yose ben Yoezer, who lived and died at the time of the Chanukah story and the rise of the Chashmonai rulers. But other fascinating, lesser-known social dramas were also playing out at the same time... We will discuss how these can and should affect the lessons that we can learn about Chanukah, and also what it can teach us about the best practices of moral leaders in our modern, daily lives.

On the assumption that stories are the best tool for deep, integrated learning, we will spend the next several episodes discussing the heroes (and villains) of the Second Temple period. Today's episode focuses on Shimon HaTzaddik; we learn the most famous episode recorded about him, and how the stories usually leave off the incredible end of the tale, which is where we'll learn our important, global lesson in leadership for all of us today.

Here, we hear from Rabbi Cary Friedman, FBI Chaplain and Police Trainer. He recounts an incredible real-life story that he experienced first-hand and that, surprisingly, derives from a lesson he learned about Chanukah decades earlier. Rav Cary and I draw out somewhat different take-home messages from the story he tells; see which resonates with you more (hopefully both!). Posted after Chanukah but while we're all still in the mood...

The Second Temple: it was the best of times... it was the worst of times. This first episode, released on Chanukah of 2023, takes us on a fascinating journey into the heart of the two most famous stories that Chazal tell us about the Second Temple period: the heroism of the Maccabim versus the complacency that led to the destruction of the Temple. From it, we will glean what just might be Ground Zero of Jewish Leadership: Be a Troublemaker. A *Good* Troublemaker. A *Necessary* Troublemaker.