Rabbi David Hertzberg

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	Select an Archives Section: JP Archives: Leadership Challenges 253 Archived Articles Found in Leadership Challenges Next 20 Articles > 1) Posted Oct 18 2011 Parshat Bereishit By Rabbi David Hertzberg What do George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and George W. Bush have in common? They all were forced to reevaluate their strategies in the middle of a crisis and change course. George Washington, as commander of the Continental army during the Revolutionary War initially believed he would be able to fight the British in open battle and defeat them-thus achieving American independence. However, following a string of defeats in the fall of 1776, he realized it would be a miracle if he kept his army together, let alone actually defeat the British. He was able to stay in the game by being victorious in a number of small actions in New Jersey. It was then that Washington realized he would win independence not by defeating the British in battle, but just by being able to wait them out. For Washington, who by nature was a man of action, this strategy was difficult to adjust to-but he had the courage to do what was necessary. Together with the French, Washington eventually succeeded in defeating the British at Yorktown. However, had Washington not changed strategies, he would never have survived long enough to reach that point in 1781. Read Article 2) Posted Sep 21 2011 Parshat Nitzavim-Vayeilach By Rabbi David Hertzberg Admiral Horatio Nelson was England's greatest admiral. During the Napoleonic wars all that stood between England and Napoleon's forces was the British navy. On land, Napoleon seemed invincible. The place to stop him was at sea, where England held the advantage. The climactic battle arrived on October 21, 1805. After receiving reports that the French fleet was heading for Gibraltar, Nelson ordered his fleet to position itself between Cape Trafalgar and Cape Spartel and await their arrival. Thus, the stage was set for the epic battle of Trafalgar. Read Article 3) Posted Sep 14 2011 Parshat Ki Tavo By Rabbi David Hertzberg Winston Churchill was a man of extreme highs and lows. The lowest point in his celebrated professional career was during the 1930s in what became known as his "wilderness years." Not only was he was not a member of the government; he was viewed by many of England's leadership as a pariah. Read Article 4) Posted Sep 07 2011 Parshat Ki Teitzei By Rabbi David Hertzberg Every time we fly we owe a debt to Ed Link. On April 14, 1929 Ed received a patent for his "pilot trainer." Although Ed worked in his father's piano and organ store he had a passion for aviation. While working in the family business Ed thought of how he could help train pilots to fly more safely. To that end, Ed built the world's first flight simulator. Read Article 5) Posted Aug 31 2011 Parshat Shoftim By Rabbi David Hertzberg The former United States Secretary of the Navy, Gordon England, recently outlined fifteen key leadership principles in a lecture he delivered at the Naval Academy. Among them were the following: 1. Treat every person with dignity and respect. 2. Cherish your time and the time of others. 3. Identify the critical problems that need solution for the organization to succeed. Read Article 6) Posted Aug 24 2011 Parshat Re'eh By Rabbi David Hertzberg Although President Roosevelt described December 7, 1941 as "a day that will live in infamy," British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had a somewhat different reaction. Recalling the feelings he had upon hearing the news of the attack Churchill wrote in his monumental post-war book, The History of the Second World War, Volume 3, "Being saturated and satiated with emotion and sensation, I went to bed and slept the sleep of the saved and thankful" (P.540). Read Article 7) Posted Aug 10 2011 Parshat Vetchanan By Rabbi David Hertzberg Leaders need to relax and take time to recharge their batteries. Working nonstop with the stress their jobs often entail can weaken the most robust of individuals. By taking some time off to exercise, read or enjoy G-d's beautiful nature, a leader can refocus and reenergize him or herself. The key is to get away from the daily pressures of the job. Read Article 8) Posted Aug 03 2011 Parshat Devarim By Rabbi David Hertzberg Moskusatsu. The careless use of this ambiguous Japanese word, and its subsequent incomplete translation, arguably helped lead to hundreds of thousands of deaths, and launched the nuclear age. In July 1945, upon being informed that the atomic bomb worked, President Harry Truman issued an ultimatum to Japan from the Potsdam Conference, which he was attending. Truman, together with his allies, demanded unconditional surrender from Japan. The ultimatum indicated that a negative answer would invite, "prompt and utter destruction." While the use of the atomic bomb was not specifically mentioned, the intent of the allies to use massive force against Japan was clear. Read Article 9) Posted Jul 27 2011 Parshat Maasei By Rabbi David Hertzberg France suffered terribly during World War I. Nearly 1.4 million French soldiers and civilians were killed during the conflict, with over three million others injured. Plagued often by inept political leadership, it was a miracle that France was able to remain in the war. The man who reinvigorated the French war effort in 1918, the war's final year, was France's new prime minister, the 76 year old Georges Clemenceau. Read Article 10) Posted Jul 20 2011 Parshat Matot By Rabbi David Hertzberg On April 24, 1980 President Carter authorized Operation Eagle Claw. From November 4, 1979 over fifty Americans were being held hostage in Iran. With no end in sight, United States Special Forces designed an operation to free the hostages by military force. Due to a confluence of many factors, the operation failed, eight soldiers died and the hostages remained in captivity until January 20, 1981. Read Article 11) Posted Jul 13 2011 Parshat Pinchas By Rabbi David Hertzberg The New England Patriots were the favorite in the 2008 Super Bowl. They had finished the season undefeated and were playing the New York Giants. With a minute to go the Giants' quarterback Eli Manning was grabbed by Jarvis Green of the Patriots. Although Green did not bring Manning down to the ground, by standard NFL rules Manning was considered "in the grasp" and the play should have been stopped. However, referee Mike Carey, in what has become a historic moment in football, did nothing. He simply let Manning continue. Manning proceeded to throw a pass to wide receiver David Tyree who managed to hold on to the ball as he fell to the ground. The Giants went on to score a touchdown and win the game. Read Article 12) Posted Jul 07 2011 Parshat Balak By Rabbi David Hertzberg "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." The preceding quote is attributed to Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Allegedly, while others were basking in the glory of a major victory, Yamamoto realized that the victory at Pearl Harbor would most probably lead to the total defeat of Japan. Regardless of whether Yamamoto actually said the above quote, he certainly shared those sentiments. Read Article 13) Posted Jun 29 2011 Parshat Chukat By Rabbi David Hertzberg Diplomacy is generally understood as the use of negotiation to settle disputes between countries, thus avoiding war, or to design the peace that follows a war. It is also used at times to justify going to war and to build coalitions. While historically diplomatic efforts have some impressive successes, we tend to remember more readily the abysmal failures. A classic example of failed diplomacy is the Treaty of Versailles signed at the end of World War I. Read Article 14) Posted Jun 22 2011 Parshat Korach By Rabbi David Hertzberg October 6, 1973 is a Yom Kippur Jews around the world will never forget. On this day Egypt and Syria launched surprise attacks against Israel. In the south, Egypt had 1350 tanks, 2000 artillery pieces and 100,000 soldiers. To defend against this giant force Israel had 450 soldiers, 44 artillery pieces and only 290 tanks ready for action. In the north Syria had an 8:1 advantage in tanks (The Yom Kippur War by Abraham Rabinovich, 2004, p.3). Against such odds it is little wonder that Israel suffered such major setbacks early in the war. Read Article 15) Posted Jun 15 2011 Parshat Shelach By Rabbi David Hertzberg "Tonight, Lipshitz, you don't go" (O Jerusalem by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierrre, 1972, p. 172). Shimshon Lipshitz was an ordinary man. Living in Yerushalyim during the time between the United Nations partition vote and the end of the British Mandate, he was no stranger to danger. As chief printer of the Palestine Post (which became the Jerusalem Post in 1950) he made the half-mile walk from his house to his office every night exposed to sniper fire. Yet something about this night concerned his wife above and beyond the usual. However, he told her that since he had never missed a day of work in over fifteen years, he had to go. He assured her he would be fine. Read Article 16) Posted Jun 07 2011 Shavuot By Rabbi David Hertzberg Winston Churchill had finally reached the pinnacle of British power. In May 1940 he was asked by King George VI to form a government with himself serving as prime minister. Despite Churchill's overwhelming joy, his appointment could not have come at a worse time for his nation's prospects. By the end of June France had surrendered to Hitler and England was fighting alone. America was not yet in the war and the Soviet Union was still a de facto ally of Germany. Read Article 17) Posted Jun 01 2011 Parshat Naso By Rabbi David Hertzberg Space Shuttle Columbia nearly made it back. But on February 1, 2003 it disintegrated upon reentry into the earth's atmosphere. The accident was the result of damage the shuttle sustained from foam which hit it during takeoff. While it could be argued that nothing could have been done to ensure the shuttle's safe return, the greater tragedy is that little was attempted. Read Article 18) Posted May 25 2011 Parshat Bamidbar By Rabbi David Hertzberg The B-17, better known as the Flying Fortress, was the most famous long-range bomber of World War II. By the end of the war B-17s had dropped more than 600,000 tons of bombs, thus contributing significantly to the defeat of the Axis powers. I was therefore quite amazed to learn that the plane nearly did not make it to mass production. In 1935, during a test-flight of an early model, the plane crashed, killing the pilot, Major Ployer Hill, who was one of the army's best. Despite his expertise and experience, the crash was determined to be the result of pilot error. Boeing, the plane's owner, was on the brink of disaster. The plane was one of the most complex aircraft ever built and was seen as too difficult to fly safely. Read Article 19) Posted May 18 2011 Parshat Bechukotai By Rabbi David Hertzberg Many military catastrophes have been the result of misreading the strategic landscape. The Germans in World War I based their operational plan on the assumption that Russia would not be able to mobilize quickly. This would allow the Germans (under the Schlieffen Plan) to defeat France before Russia could bring her massive army into the war. The plan assumed that by the time Russia would be fully mobilized France would have been defeated, and Germany could then focus her forces against Russia, thus avoiding the necessity of having to fight a war on two fronts. However, Russia mobilized far more quickly than the Germans had anticipated and a long war of attrition followed. Read Article 20) Posted May 11 2011 Parshat Behar By Rabbi David Hertzberg Military history is replete with turning points. The American Revolution had Trenton, Saratoga and Valley Forge. The Civil War had Antietam, Gettysburg and Vicksburg. World War II had Midway, El Alamein and Stalingrad. Though all battles are terrible, Stalingrad has earned its own special place as perhaps the most brutal of them all. From July 1942 through February 1943 the German army fought the Soviet army for literally every inch of the city. Read Article 253 Archived Articles Found in Leadership Challenges Next 20 Articles >
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