I’ve been thinking about leadership lately. What does it mean to be a leader? Does it apply to all of us? I think about Aaron’s two sons who brought “strange fire” before God and were immediately killed. One way to understand their sin is that their desire was to perform a sacrifice only for themselves, and not step into their new roles as leaders in the community.

I’m stepping into a new role too. I’ve moved from the pulpit to the office. Instead of leading a congregation, I’m working for a large organization. The job is terrific – tailor-made for me – but the environment is much different.

In this milieu, how do I relate to my colleagues? Rabbi John Feigelson believes that leadership is a requirement for each of us, whatever our position in the world. He quotes the educator Parker Palmer, who said: “What does it take to qualify as a leader? Being human and being here. As long as I am here, doing whatever I am doing, I am leading, for better or for worse. And, if I may say so, so are you.”

This week’s Torah portion sheds more light on how we each function as leaders. It includes my favorite chapter of Leviticus, chapter 19, also known as the Holiness Code. It is filled with wisdom about how we should go about our daily lives. It states very clearly that each person has a measure of responsibility for all the other people in their sphere.

It tells us, again and again, that God is holy and therefore we should be holy. And the way to holiness isn’t difficult. Love your neighbor. Don’t steal or lie. Leave the corners of your fields for poor people to glean. Think about the needs of others as well as your own needs.

The message is clear: the key to holiness has nothing to do with prayer, attendance at church or synagogue, or belief in God. The key to holiness is how we behave in the world. For Jew and non-Jew alike, this is a powerful message.

I have long believed that if you want to see God‘s hands, look at your own. We have the ability and responsibility to be God’s hands in this world. May we each be blessed to remember the power that we hold in our hands.