Moshe asked Hashem to ensure a leader for the Jewish people so that the “congregation of Hashem not be as sheep without a shepherd”. Not so their leader should lead them to great conquests, not even that he raise them to spiritual heights. Nor that he be their mentor and teacher. Rather so that they not be utterly lost and bewildered – directionless – as “sheep without a shepherd”.
This bears keeping in mind. The primary role of a leader is that by virtue of having one centralized leader, groups of people act in unison, as a nation. Otherwise, they are atomized individuals, powerful and great as each one may be in his own right. Klal Yisrael, the nation, is a function of its leadership. Were there no leaders there would be no Klal Yisrael.
It seems that every time there emerges some incident of alleged Rabbinic corruption or wrongdoing, people are quick to speak against the Rabbinate as a whole. What they are really doing is trying to tear down the entire leadership echelon. Nothing could be more dangerous, more anarchist. As the Chinuch writes in one place; Hashem prefers we listen to the rabbis than to Him, because better we do one thing wrong than the hundreds that would result had we no-one to lead us.
Leadership is like pants. A prudent man will not change his pants, no matter how much pizza has shmeared on them, unless he has another qualified pair of pants handy. And even then, he will probably not change pants in public! Yet that is exactly what people suggest; “Let’s get rid of corrupt leaders, demonstrate against them, chuck them out!” – although no-one is there to replace them. The result will be turning “the Congregation of Hashem as sheep without a shepherd”.
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