Dostoevsky Was an Antisemite. I Still Think You Should Read Him
6 min read
“Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” - Lord Acton
How do you keep a leader with absolute power — a king — from becoming corrupt? In this week’s Torah portion, the Torah gives us its solution:
"And it shall be that when [the king] sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself two copies of this Torah in a scroll… It shall be with him and he shall read from it all the days of his life, so that he will learn to fear Hashem, his God, to observe all the words of this Torah and these decrees, to perform them, so that his heart does not become haughty over his brothers and he does not turn from the commandment right or left, so that he will prolong years over his kingdom, he and his sons amid Israel." (Deut. 17:18-20)
The Torah commands the king to write two Torah scrolls and carry one with him constantly—from his throne to the battlefield to public addresses. By reading from his Torah each day, he learns to "fear God," recognizing that a Supreme Being stands above him, that his kingship can vanish instantly, and that he'll answer for his actions in this life and the next. Could there be a more perfect medicine to prevent the corrupting influence of absolute power?
We can all appreciate the wisdom of this commandment, but if we look a little deeper, we'll see another fascinating detail of this mitzvah. According to the verse, the king must personally write two Torah scrolls. Why two scrolls?
According to the Talmud1, one travels with him everywhere while the other remains locked in his treasury. We understand the value of portable Torah guidance, but why invest equal energy in a scroll destined for storage?
To understand why the king needs two scrolls, we must first examine how leadership typically unfolds in our world today. Too often, we see the greatest public figures living double lives. Even when these leaders achieved extraordinary external impact, they often failed to master their inner worlds.
Society often excuses these private lapses, focusing instead on public heroism and leadership. But Jewish wisdom takes a radically different approach.
The Torah's vision of leadership rejects any separation between public achievement and private character. The Talmudic sage Rabban Gamliel refused to let anyone into his academy who wasn't "tocho c'boro"—whose insides did not match their outsides.2 This same Rabban Gamliel taught, "Do not judge your fellow until you reach his place" (Ethics of Our Fathers 2:4). The Meiri, a classic 13th-century commentator, explains this teaching: one cannot judge a person by their actions out in the world. One must go to where that person lives and see their private life in order to judge their true character.
The Kuzari presents perhaps the most striking definition of authentic leadership. When asked to define a saintly person, the Rabbi responds: "A saintly person is one who is concerned with his country... He leads them justly, does not oppress any one of them." When challenged—"I asked you about a saintly person, not a leader!"—the Rabbi replies: "The saintly person is a leader. All of his senses and attributes—both spiritual and physical—submit themselves to his command... He has shown that he is fit to govern—that were he to rule over a country, he would preside over it justly just as he has done with his own body and soul."3
A clear hierarchy emerges from these sources: before one can lead others, one must first master oneself and one's home. This reflects Judaism's approach to leadership, which operates through three expanding circles of mastery:
Level 1: Internal Leadership - In Ethics of Our Fathers (4:1), Ben Zoma teaches, "Who is mighty? He who subdues his inclinations." Only through self-control against life's many temptations can one embark on the path to true leadership.
Level 2: Familial Leadership - Rabbi Chaim Vital taught that 99% of a person's judgment in mitzvot between man and fellow man comes from relationships at home.4 All the charity, heroism, and world-changing impact someone makes in their lifetime adds up to only 1%. The small daily acts of love and care given to spouse and family account for 99%.
Level 3: External Leadership - Once you've mastered yourself and built a stable home, you might be ready to expand your concentric circles to include community, nation, and world. At each stage of expansion, the individual must never be forgotten in favor of the collective, for the collective consists of individuals.
Now that we understand the Torah's vision for leadership, we can solve the mystery of the two Torah scrolls. One scroll accompanies him as an ever-present reminder of his role as God's trusted servant in leading the Jewish people. The second remains locked in his personal treasury, reminding him of the equal—if not greater—importance of self-mastery and proper conduct within his home. The treasury scroll embodies the Torah's most radical leadership principle: private character matters more than public achievement.
Rabbi Moshe Shapira, one of the greatest teachers of the last generation, exemplified this dual-scroll wisdom. He taught over 35 classes and mentored over 1,000 future rabbis each week, wielding influence across the Jewish world. Yet he never lost sight of individual dignity, as the following story demonstrates: During one neighborhood mediation, when the cleaning lady offered him tea, he politely declined and continued working. Hours later, after helping settle the dispute, he walked down two flights of stairs to where his student was waiting with the car. As he was about to get in, he suddenly exclaimed, "I forgot something!" Before his student could reply, he rushed back upstairs, searching room by room until he found the cleaning lady. He smiled, wished her a cordial goodbye and left.
The same Rabbi Moshe who shaped thousands of future leaders also cared for one forgotten woman, sustained a 60-year marriage and, according to all who knew him, exercised complete control over himself in every movement and word.
Two takeaways emerge from the Torah's dual-scroll vision of leadership. First, like the king's public scroll, if you've been granted any leadership position—as CEO, president, father, or mother—take a moment at the start of your week to remind yourself of your dependence on God for your life, abilities, and power. Second, like the king's treasury scroll, assess whether you've given enough attention to the less glamorous moments of your life—the ones that don't earn fame and success yet form the backbone of true Jewish leadership.
Just as the king needed both scrolls to lead properly, we need both dimensions of leadership. The public scroll reminds us to use our leadership to serve something higher than ourselves. The treasury scroll asks: Metaphorically, have you been changing the diapers?
May we be blessed to bring these essential lessons of leadership into our careers, communities, homes, and beyond!
Shabbat Shalom!
Avraham
