Session 23: Parashat B'ha'alotecha

"Inaugural Address to the Nation", President Harry Truman, 1949

What is the relationship between leadership and humility? Leaders need confidence and faith in their own abilities to do their jobs, yet too much of either quality can blind a leader–or any one–to the consequences of their actions and decisions. Thus, good leadership demands that a leader balance between confidence and humility. Parashat B’ha’alotecha points to the importance of this balance in several ways.

Harry Truman ascended to the presidency following the unexpected death in 1945 of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was widely recognized as a great president and supremely effective leader. In 1948, Truman was unexpectedly elected to a full term in office, despite widespread forecasts that he would lose. President Truman invoked humility in the opening line of his inaugural address, taking stock of the country and his mandate at the midpoint of the tumultuous 20th century.

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