Have we given too much power to the people?
With Brexit and the rise of Donald Trump, some are questioning whether the masses should be entrusted with so much power. (Please don’t take this as an endorsement, or the opposite, of any candidate or position; I’m merely sharing a sentiment that some are expressing) Perhaps David Cameron gave too much power to the people by even calling for the referendum? Are we witnessing mob rule rather than a moral and sensible form of government? A couple of weeks ago we read the Torah portion about the spies who were sent to Israel and later led a rebellion against Moses and G-d. The story opens with G-d’s instruction to Moses “Send for you spies” The commentaries explain the words “for you” to mean; send spies if you, the people, want. This was a watershed moment in history. Up until this point G-d called the shots and the people simply followed. All of a sudden G-d says, let the people decide what to do, I will no longer guide every step and make every decision. G-d handed over power to the people. This was a high-risk move, but then again so was the very creation of our world. G-d could have created a perfect world, He could have done all the work for us, but instead G-d entrusted us with the task of bettering the world. Of course, handing over so much power to the masses comes with great risk. But G-d is willing to take the risk because, appreciating our inherent goodness, he trusts that while we might make mistakes along the way, eventually we will get it right. Democracy is also high-risk. It empowers the people. We may make mistakes, but due to our inherent (often concealed) goodness, we will eventually learn from our mistakes and rebuild even stronger than before. There’s an important lesson to be learnt from all this. G-d has faith in you. (More than you have faith in G-d, G-d has faith in you) With free choice, G-d has entrusted you with tremendous power. And with this power you can cause great damage, you can make some really big mistakes. But G-d allows for this because, aware of your inherent goodness and greatness, He knows that you can and will rebuild even stronger. Good luck! Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Benjy Silverman
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