In Parshat Pinchas, God tells Moshe that he will not be entering the land of Israel. Moshe outlines the criterion that are needed for the next leader in Bamidbar 27:16-17: “Let God, the God of spirits appoint a man over the community (ish al haedah) who will go forth before them and who will come back before them and who would lead them out and who would bring them in so that the community of God shall not be like sheep without a shepherd”. God’s answer in 27:18 was “Take yourself Yehoshua Bin Nun, a man in whom there is spirit (is hasher ruach bo) and lay your hand on him”.

According to Chidushei HaRim, it is well known that as the generations progress, the leaders are weaker. Unfortunately we really need the opposite, as the generations become weaker, we really need stronger leaders. This can be compared to a person who is sick. The more ill he gets, the more he needs better doctors.

Degel Mincha Efraim points out that Moshe specifically says “ish al haedah”, a man over the community. The leader must be above the community in order to influence them. This is in contrast to what B’nai Yisrael said in the days of Shmuel “tneh lanu melech” give us a king (who we can control). Their mission was to take control and influence the king.

Rabbi M.M of Kotzk says that the reason Moshe brought up the proper character traits of a leader at this point was because he did not want a zealous person like Pinchas to become the leader. A leader must have a tremendous amount of patience in order to devote their time and attention to each person who seeks help.

Oznayim LeTotah adds that “ish asher ruach bo”, a person in whom there is spirit refers to a person who has the spirit of God and Torah within him. In order to be the leader of the Jewish people one must be religious.

With all of the scandals taking place in Israel and abroad, today more than ever we need strong leaders who can positively influence the Jewish community. We need people who are truly religious and patient. Most of all, we need a leader like Yehoshua which we can proudly call an “ish” a mench.