The Menial Task of a Leader

"be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all"

My father of blessed memory had a saying that he taught to my siblings and me. “If a task is once begun, never leave it, till it’s done; be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all.” There are at least two lessons that I learned from this. The first is to persevere and finish the task. The second lesson, take pride in your work; don’t settle for mediocre. Always give your best effort.

It is good to take pride in yourself and in your work; to have confidence in yourself and self-esteem. The challenge, however, is not to become arrogant. Arrogance is when you feel you are superior to other people. It is ok to have a sense of self-respect, proper dignity or value. It is possible to have satisfaction in oneself without being haughty.

Having pride and being proud sometimes go hand in hand. Like pride, being proud of yourself and your accomplishments is good. Sometimes it is easier to be proud of someone else and what they have accomplished. For instance, a friend of mine shared this story with me recently. He had just removed the training wheels from his young son’s bike. His young son was able to ride his bicycle by himself in about thirty seconds after he let go of the bike. He was so proud of his son. However, if we discuss our own accomplishments, we may think it’s egotistical to be proud of them. On the contrary, it’s perfectly ok to be proud of your achievements and your successes. So, what are some things that make you proud?

As I stated earlier, having pride in yourself and being proud of who you are, are healthy feelings if they don’t lead to arrogance and haughtiness. Some people may feel that a title or a certain position allows them to be arrogant toward others. But the way to reframe from becoming arrogant is by being humble.

Perhaps that is a lesson we can learn from Parashat Tzav. Previously, the Torah informed us that Aharon and his sons are to be the Cohanim for B’nei Yisrael. This is a very important leadership position. The Cohanim administered and officiated the service of the Mishkan, including the korbanot. Parashat Tzav lists a couple of the tasks they were to complete each morning. They were to place wood on the altar to keep the fire burning and to remove the ashes from the previous korbanot. Placing wood and removing ash did not require any special skill, talent, or knowledge. These two menial tasks could be done by anyone. So why have the Cohanim do these tasks?

Although there was much honor and prestige in this role, placing the wood and removing the ash showed that their position did not make them better than others. They were to remain humble. They were not to become arrogant. Unfortunately, humility isn’t always seen as a strength but is sometimes thought of as a weakness. When Moshe is called the humblest man on earth, this is not referring to any weakness of his. Tiara Blain says that humility is the ability to view yourself accurately as an individual with talents as well as flaws while being void of arrogance and low self-esteem.

Humility does not mean you let people walk over you and that you lack self-confidence. Instead, you realize that you bring worth to the world along with others. Humility allows you to develop self-growth and self-awareness and increases your happiness. While becoming more comfortable with yourself, you perceive and interact with people with more compassion and kindness. With this, you are likely to develop more positive relationships. Always keep in mind that no one is better, or worse than you; so, be proud, but remain humble.