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The Transformative Power of Failure in Leadership

JEWISH THOUGHT

Failure is not just a setback but a crucial step in the journey of growth and self-discovery for leaders. Dr. Erica Brown's modern commentary on the Book of Numbers explores the transformative potential of mistakes in leadership, drawing parallels to the experiences of Moses and other biblical leaders.

Failure is another word for growth; it just doesn’t seem like it at the time. Leaders with ambitions to change others or confront convention often find themselves stymied and alone, wracked by mistakes and unsure of the future. They nurse their leadership wounds in private, struggling with alienation. Unable to motivate others to buy into their vision of the future or their commitment to change, they label themselves as failures. They feel misunderstood and suffer the strange paralysis of believing that there can be no realization of their deepest desires…

Leadership in the Wilderness; Authority and Anarchy in the Book of Numbers, Part II, Chapter 7; The Dark Hours of Leadership 3

Atoning for Judicial Errors

GUIDES

Even the most learned and righteous courts can make mistakes, and there must be a way to address and atone for these errors. The Babylonian Talmud’s tractate Horayot, within the order of Nezikin, discusses the laws and atonement procedures for erroneous judicial rulings.

The commentaries ask: Why does this tractate, which addresses the halakhot of offerings and is codified by the Rambam in Sefer Korbanot, Hilkhot Shegagot, appear in the order of Nezikin, instead of in the more appropriate order of Kodashim? The reason is that this tractate is both an addition and a complement to tractate Sanhedrin…

Introductions to the Babylonian Talmud, Horayot, Introduction to Horayot 2

The Legal Implications of Transactional Errors

HALAKHAH

Mistakes in monetary transactions can have significant legal and ethical implications. In his 12th-century legal code, the Mishneh Torah, Maimonides (Rambam) meticulously outlines the laws governing sales and the obligations that arise from errors in payment.

When a person acquires something from a colleague and pays him money, but errs in the amount of money he gave him the transaction is valid. If afterwards the seller lodges a claim against the purchaser, saying: "You were supposed to pay me 100 zuz, and you paid me only ninety," the transaction is still viable. The purchaser must, however, pay the additional ten zuz.
The above applies even though several years have passed since the transaction and applies with regard to the sale of both landed property and movable property.

Mishneh Torah, Sales 8:6

Miscalculation 70 years of Exile

TALMUD

Even the prophet Daniel, known for his wisdom, made a mistake in calculating the seventy years of exile. The Talmud in Tractate Megillah discusses Daniel’s error and the implications of his recounting and recalculating the years of exile.

Rava said: Daniel also erred in this calculation, as it is written: “In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, meditated in the books over the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish for the desolations of Jerusalem seventy years” (Daniel 9:2). From the fact that he said “I meditated,” a term indicating recounting and calculating, it can be inferred that he had previously erred.

Megillah 12a:2

Mistakes on Shabbat

TALMUD

The Talmud provides nuanced guidance on how to handle mistakes made on Shabbat, particularly distinguishing between unintentional and intentional actions. The Talmudic tractate Shabbat discusses the 39 prohibited labors on Shabbat and offers rulings on various scenarios, including the permissibility of eating food cooked unintentionally on Shabbat.

If one forgot a pot on Shabbat eve atop a stove and it cooked on Shabbat, what is the ruling in that case? Is one permitted to eat that food, or not? He was silent and did not say a thing to him. The next day, he emerged and publicly taught them the following halakha: With regard to one who cooks on Shabbat, if he did so unwittingly, he may eat it, and if he cooked intentionally, he may not eat it; and the halakha is no different.

Shabbat 38a:1

Correcting Mistakes in Prayer

TALMUD

Mistakes during the recitation of the Amidah, a central prayer in Jewish liturgy, require specific corrections to maintain the sanctity and precision of the prayer. The Jerusalem Talmud provides detailed guidelines for correcting errors made during the Amidah, ensuring that worshippers can properly address any mistakes.

“If the one standing before the arc makes a mistake.” Rebbi Yose ben Ḥanina in the name of Rebbi Ḥananiah ben Gamliel: If one erred in one of the first three benedictions, he starts anew. Ada bar bar Ḥana, Ganiva in the name of Rav: If one erred in one of the last three benedictions, he returns to “Temple Service.” Rebbi Ḥelbo, Rav Huna in the name of Rav: If one erred in one of the first three benedictions, he starts anew; in one of the last three benedictions, he returns to “Temple Service”; if he erred and he cannot remember where he erred he returns to the place that is clear to him.

Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 5:3:4

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