"Leadership Is Not Comfortable": Discussing Jewish Leadership, Role Models, Successes, and Failures with Dr. Erica Brown (170)

Many people are troubled by what appears to be a dearth of moral leadership in the Jewish world in general, and in the Orthodox world in particular. Of course, no one is asserting that there are no admirable leaders; rather, in addtion to these good leaders, there are too many leaders who are incompetent, cowardly, selfish, or immoral.

For that reason, Scott was honored to talk with Dr. Erica Brown about whether this common impression is right, what constitutes good leadership according to Jewish sources, and how such leaders are cultivated. They discussed why there are different models of leadership in Jewish texts; some examples of leaders in Tanach including Yosef, Moshe, Rut, Esther, and Kohelet; what’s often called imposter syndrome; the importance of identifying talent and whether this involves favoritism; introverted versus extroverted leadership; the problem when institutional leadership protects itself rather than the people it ostensibly represents; rabbinic scandals and those who enable bad behavior; "protexia" and nepotism; the dangers of charismatic leadership; and much more.

Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108).

Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/.

Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast.

Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com