Some really interesting and meaningful discussion points:

Rabbi Sacks related how the menorah exemplifies Jewish leaders.  The branches (those being led) are on top.  The leaders are on the bottom.

Another teaching that we learned was that as leaders in the world we are a religion of protest.  We want the world the way it ought to be.  Think about R. Heschel marching with MLK.

LDI took place the weekend before we read Parsha Yitro.  How appropriate as the Parsha opens with Yitro teaching our greatest leader Moshe how to delegate in order for him to become a more effective leader.  It made us realize that the best leaders must have faith in their teams. “Good leaders create followers, great leaders create leaders”.

Benny applied what Rabbi Sacks taught to FJMC leadership today:

Benny and Elliott made us think about how we are all in this together.  One person cannot do all the work alone.  Another Torah story used as a paradigm and that we had just read in shul was the battle against Amalek.  As long as Moses held up his hands military success was achieved.  As he tired, his assistants (Hur and Joshua) held him up so that the battle went to Israel.

To sum up:  We can all be leaders and can learn from the Torah many principles that will help us in our mission.

“It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it” (Pirkei Avot)

Danny Mandeau is currently the Chairman of the FJMC Virtual Convention taking place June 6-13, 2021