Rashi asks an interesting question on the first verse of Parashat Vayakel. In that verse we learn, Vayakel Moshe et kol adat b’nei yisrael, "And Moshe gathered the entire community of Israel together." Rashi is curious about the word Vayakel, "they were gathered" or as translated in the JPS Tanakh as "Moses convoked." Rashi asks what method did Moshe use to gather the multitudes of people? His answer is that Moshe gathered the people through his words and not through his physical actions.
Both Rashi’s question and his answer might seem unremarkable until we remember that Moshe had a speech disability. This disability is so consuming for Moshe that he cites it as a reason for initially declining God’s call to become the leader of the Israelite people and to bring them out of slavery in Egypt. When we look at Moshe, who is described by the Torah as aral s’fatayim, slow of speech, Rashi’s question is a poignant one. The people, Rashi is saying, were not gathered by physical actions but through the substance of the words of a man who had difficulty speaking.
In today’s world, image and presentation often count for more than substance. Would a leader like Moshe, who is slow of speech, have the ability to assemble a large group of people and deliver a powerful message that would move them? Would a leader with a physical disability have the support of an entire nation? For the most part we can honestly answer that a physical disability would disqualify a leader from public acceptance. I wonder how much this says about the tools that are necessary to be an outstanding leader and how much it says about our individual and collective ability to be moved to action by the substance of our leaders’ abilities and not by their charming nature and good looks.
Focusing on his substance versus his style is an easy explanation to Rashi’s question of how Moshe gathered the people. I want offer a different reading of Rashi that centers on Moshe’s overcoming his disability to become the leader of the Jewish people. Throughout the Torah, long before we learn of his speech disability, we see that Moshe is a person who is uncomfortable with words. He often reacts to situations with his actions rather than with his words. He strikes the Egyptian taskmaster and later he hits the rock rather than speak to it as God commanded him. Moshe triumphs over his disability and takes on his leadership role when he conquers his own lack of confidence in his abilities. Yes, it is true that God appoints Aaron to speak for him, but in agreeing to have Aaron serve in this role, Moshe is willing to confront his own limitations.
Serving in a leadership capacity, no matter how large or small, requires the ability to look at one’s self honestly and to understand what limitations we bring to our leadership role and how we can compensate for these. It may also be true that leaders who have overcome their own insecurities and disabilities bring a confidence to their actions that can only be learned through personal struggle. It is this quality that the Israelites see in their leader Moshe and it is this quality that is so compelling to them that they are able to see beyond his physical disability to core of his substance.