There is a verse that is repeated in the Torah, over and over: “God spoke to Moses, saying…” What follows is usually a law or series of laws, or directions on what to do next. Every once in a while Aaron’s name is added, but mostly it’s God addressing Moses, over and over and over.

And then suddenly in this week’s Torah portion, something happens. The sentence is turned on its head. It reads: “Moses spoke to God, saying…”

Near the end of his life, Moses finally gives God a directive. He has something to teach the Deity, something that God seems to have forgotten. Which is surprising, because it is a crucially important point in any leadership narrative.

Moses tells God that it’s time to name a successor. Moses knows he is about to die – God has made that abundantly clear – but no one knows who will follow him. Unlike his brother Aaron, Moses doesn’t have a son to follow in his footsteps. His two sons disappeared from the story long ago and are seemingly unimportant side notes in Moses’ story.

So Moses, the charismatic leader who took the people out of slavery and led them on a 40-year journey of self-discovery, tells God what to do.

I’ve worked in the not-profit sector for many years, and have served as Executive Director and Rabbi under many boards of directors. One of the first things I ask a new board president is, “Who is the next president?” They are usually surprised by the question, but I know that one of their most pressing duties is to create a leadership ladder, with people steadily moving up the ladder until they were ready to be president.

Too often, I failed at the task. It’s difficult to create a leadership team with people moving forward step by step until they are ready to take on the mantle of leadership. Too many would-be leaders fall by the wayside, or decide that they don’t want to bear the responsibilities of being the president of an organization.

God and Moses had been partners for four decades. But it was the human member of the team, the one who would die before the task was completed, who thought about the next step, about choosing and preparing the next leader, and indeed the next generation of leaders who would take the people into the Promised Land.

We are God’s hands in this world. It’s our job to take the initiative to make this world a better place, to plan and prepare for a future that we won’t live to see. We don’t need to try to be like God; simply be like Moses and do our best, for today and tomorrow.