Moses faced the ultimate leadership meltdown. The people had lost faith and created a golden calf to worship. Utterly digusted, God is ready to walk away. Moses is caught between divine disappointment and human frailty. So, he does what any desperate leader might do, he asks for a little proof. “Show me Your glory,” he says. Translation: “Give me something to hold on to, because I can’t lead these people in the dark.” From a crag in the dry desert rocks, Moses gets a glimpse of God’s glory.
Sound familiar? In today’s political wilderness, we too are wandering. The golden calves of 2025 look different. Some in government display bravado, engender fear, and spread disinformation. All of this is in pursuit of money and power, the modern Golden Calves. As a result trust breaks down, oppositin seems impotent, and we start wondering whether democracy can survive its own people. Meanwhile, authoritarians strut around like they’ve got God’s cell number on speed dial.
But God’s response to Moses is both tender and tough: “I will make all My goodness pass before you … but you cannot see My face.” In other words, Moses doesn’t get clarity. He gets a glimpse. Not the full vision of perfection, Moses gets just enough goodness to keep going.
Maybe that’s what faithful leadership and democratic hope really look like. Not the thunderous certainty of autocrats, but the humble courage to lead without seeing the whole map. To keep walking, even when the only light is a glimmer of goodness passing by.
I’ve learned that holiness hides in the cracks. God’s presence sneaks into the conversation, the music, the laughter, and, yes, the arguments. Democracy is no different. It’s not perfect; it’s holy because it’s shared. Because we keep showing up.
Moses never saw God’s face. Neither will we see a perfect world. But maybe we can still glimpse God’s goodness: in compassion over cruelty, in truth over fear, in courage over cynicism. That’s the kind of vision worth following.
So let’s lead, even if we are uncertain and even if the methods are imperfect. With the glimpse of a goodness we must be determined, just like Moses. As I said on Kol Nidre, we may be heartsick but not heartless, and we must never be hopeless.
Rabbi Evan J. Krame
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