{"id":47680,"date":"2025-09-26T01:42:34","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T08:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=47680"},"modified":"2025-09-24T13:13:25","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T20:13:25","slug":"be-more-solution-oriented","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2025\/09\/26\/be-more-solution-oriented\/","title":{"rendered":"Be more solution-oriented"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leaders are simply people, of course. And all people have strengths and weaknesses. Just like the traditional approach to weaving Persian rugs with an intentional mistake, we must remember that only the Almighty is perfect.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But some leaders become lionized and celebrated, their human failings swept under the rug (sorry). However, we\u2019re in a political moment where some leaders\u2019 mistakes are all too obvious. No need to name anybody. Many fit this description. It\u2019s upsetting and confusing to realize that even those chosen as \u201cthe best\u201d or \u201cbrightest\u201d fail sometimes. It\u2019s a useful learning experience, too.<\/p>\n

Awhile back, I was discussing politics online with other Canadians. I came upon something that stopped me cold. A poster criticized a political leader. I asked what she saw as solutions. The questions I asked were how, if she were in charge, she\u2019d do things differently.<\/p>\n

Her response surprised me. She said the only thing she could do was vote and complain. That, essentially, it was her right to find fault, but not her obligation to offer solutions. Her opinion was that she wasn\u2019t passive because, well, she voted consistently and complained vociferously.<\/p>\n

From a Jewish perspective, we have plenty of examples of whiners. Remember the Israelites, wandering in the desert, who wanted to go back to Egypt because they didn\u2019t have meat, fish, onions, garlic, leeks or cantaloupes? (Numbers 11:4-5) It\u2019s a normal response to crave foods when you\u2019re unable to get them. As a high schooler studying abroad, I craved M&Ms so much that my mother brought them when she visited. They were superfluous, but I wanted them.<\/p>\n

The opportunity to complain is always available, but it\u2019s unattractive, especially if there\u2019s something you can do to fix the problem yourself. Since that high school moment, I\u2019ve lived many places where I\u2019ve craved food but couldn\u2019t buy it locally. As a result, I\u2019ve become a more creative cook. When traveling, it\u2019s good to \u201cload up\u201d on cravings if they\u2019re available. Not to hoard, but just as an extra pleasure.<\/p>\n

Worldwide political upheaval made me study the Babylonian Talmudic tractate of Horayot with more interest. It\u2019s a small part of the Talmud but it\u2019s about how people in charge (kings, high priests, judges, teachers, etc.) can make amends or do the right sacrifices or actions to atone for their mistakes. This text assumes that there will always be errors in judgment. People in certain important positions have societal roles to play, and that means their atonements to seek forgiveness for errors must be bigger sometimes than if they were private citizens.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This may sound irrelevant but consider the role of a teacher. Teachers make mistakes. The best resolution to this would be a public acknowledgement of the error and a demonstration of how to fix it. We might shrug and get on with things after a private math mistake. Yet, if a math teacher makes this error in front of the class, the best lesson is having a student find and correct the error. Then, the teacher can perform the act of learning from their error, thank the student, and acknowledge that no one is perfect.<\/p>\n

In our lives, even if we are not teachers, parents, supervisors, or in any authority roles, it\u2019s a great idea to try to practise this approach: to remember that no one is perfect and that it\u2019s all our jobs to find solutions. As Rabbi Tarfon teaches, \u201cthat it\u2019s not upon us to complete the work, but neither are we free to stop doing it.\u201d (Pirkei Avot 2:16)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This sounds simple. But, in the tractate of Horayot, there\u2019s a very powerful ending about how our pride and ego can get in the way. It\u2019s about three rabbis and their leadership roles: Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel (Rashbag) was the leader of the Jewish community in the Galilee during the late second century, after the Bar Kochba Revolt; the head of the court was Rabbi Natan; and a great scholar at the time was Rabbi Meir.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rashbag is upset with a lack of protocol in the Torah academy. He wants everyone to stand when he comes in until they\u2019re told to be seated. Rashbag suggests that, for Rabbi Natan and Rabbi Meir, who he perceives as less important, those studying should rise when they enter, but students can sit down again right afterwards. Rabbis Meir and Natan try to put Rashbag to an intellectual test to prove that he isn\u2019t above them, but Rashbag finds out in advance and bests them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rabbis Meir and Natan are expelled from the Torah academy and forced to study outside. However, the academy couldn\u2019t continue without their expertise, so there was the ancient equivalent of paper airplane communication happening. The expelled rabbis would throw questions into the academy, students would try to answer. If the students couldn\u2019t, they\u2019d ask for more help.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Obviously, this was a bad way to learn. Rashbag was forced to readmit the scholars, but only with the proviso that their rulings couldn\u2019t be under their own names. Essentially, the glory of Torah was more important than the glory of Torah scholars. This remained true for all except for Rashbag and his descendants, who insisted on maintaining their grudge and hereditary leadership and denying these two learned men their due.<\/p>\n

Where does that lead us? Leaders are fallible. Each of us has the potential to uplift, lead and find solutions. When necessary, we need to stop being passive and lead more. Sometimes, that means trying to avoid\u00a0<\/span>big egos or coming up with creative responses to difficult problems. It can feel uncomfortable to raise our voices and act, if we\u2019re used to letting others do the hard work. Also, we need allies to help make change. This means building connections with others, particularly outside the Jewish community.<\/p>\n

The pressing example for the Canadian Jewish community is our political leaders\u2019 refrain after antisemitic incidents: \u201cThis isn\u2019t who we are as Canadians.\u201d Well, in fact, it is who we are, as evidenced by the dramatic rise in hate crimes. We have leaders who aren\u2019t acting to solve this problem. It\u2019s getting worse. In response, we must step up and ask our allies to do so, too. Nobody\u2019s perfect. People make mistakes. That said, we must hold leaders \u2013 and all those passive followers \u2013 to account if we expect to remain safe in Canada. It\u2019s time to find solutions. Complaints alone don\u2019t cut it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Joanne Seiff<\/b> has written regularly for the <\/i>Winnipeg Free Press and various Jewish publications. She is the author of three books, including <\/i>From the Outside In: Jewish Post Columns 2015-2016, a collection of essays available for digital download or as a paperback from Amazon. Check her out on Instagram @yrnspinner<\/a> or at joanneseiff.blogspot.com<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leaders are simply people, of course. And all people have strengths and weaknesses. Just like the traditional approach to weaving Persian rugs with an intentional mistake, we must remember that only the Almighty is perfect.\u00a0 But some leaders become lionized and celebrated, their human failings swept under the rug (sorry). However, we\u2019re in a political […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[4304,218,8302,3597,24083,2231],"class_list":["post-47680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-op-ed","tag-democracy","tag-judaism","tag-lifestyle","tag-politics","tag-responsibilities","tag-talmud"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47680\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}