There is no I in Team

Rabbi Joel Fleekop

Saturday, June 13, 2009

There is no I in Team.

This aphorism is familiar to anyone who played a team sport. It is uttered by coaches, printed on t-shirts, and drawn upon by parents condemning selfish play.

It is a familiar saying but, judging from the behavior of some professional athletes, one that hasn’t yet fully sunk in. Team sports remain littered with instances of selfish behavior: the basketball player attempting a windmill dunk with his team trailing by 20, the NFL quarterback demanding to start or be traded, and Major League All Stars risking suspension and jeopardizing their teams’ seasons by taking performance enhancing drugs. Surely if players were focused on team results and not and self-aggrandizement they would behave differently.

Selfish behavior on or off the field of play is destructive and affects an entire organization. Though another sports cliché asserts that winning cures team chemistry problems, history shows the teams that are most successful are often the ones that are truly teams – not a collection of individuals, a collection of I’s.

This recipe for success extends beyond the world of sports.

As we heard earlier, this week’s Torah and Haftarah portions describe teams of spies sent to scout the land of Israel. The first group, 12 individuals sent by Moses, brings back a report that creates fear amongst the tribes, ultimately leading to 40 years of wandering in the desert. The second, a small group of 2 spies sent by Joshua, returns with an encouraging report that helps the Israelites conquer the city of Jericho.

Why did the two spy missions render such different results? The explanation offered by Jewish tradition sounds a lot like “There is no I in team.”

Midrash Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings, explains that the two spies sent by Joshua were Caleb and Pinchas. Caleb and Pinchas were respected, senior members in the community. They were secure in their place in society and felt a strong connection to their fellow Israelites. And so it is that when they went to scout out the land of Israel, they acted not as individuals but as representatives of the larger group. This is hinted at by the language of the book of Joshua. Vayishlach Yehoshua Ben Nun Min HaShitim Snayim Anashim M’raglim Cheresh, “Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from the territory of Shittim.” By identifying those sent as spies, the text suggests that their focus was on the specific task at hand. Caleb and Pinchas put their personal aspirations aside and focused on the collective need. In other words, they were good team players.

In contrast, the book of Numbers reads, Shlach L’cha Anashim – send for yourself men. Commenting on this verse, Rabbi Hanokh of Alexander writes, “those sent by Moses . . . were all ‘men,’-- individuals with their own personal agendas -- and that was why they were unsuccessful in their mission.” Because the men sent by Moses could only see themselves as individuals – not as part of a greater whole -- they were easily intimidated by the cities and civilizations they encountered in the Promised Land. In Numbers 13 verse 33 the spies, having returned from their mission report, “Va-n’he V’ay-naynu K’chagavim -- We were in our own sight as grasshoppers.”

Their report is not inaccurate. Surely they, 12 individuals, were like grasshoppers in comparison to entire nations. But if they had seen themselves as part of a team – part of a nation redeemed and blessed by God, their sense of strength, responsibility, and of what was possible would have been different.

Judaism teaches that we, as human beings, are all part of a team; a notion articulated by Rabbi Tarfon in the second chapter of Pirkei Avot – Sayings of our Ancestors.

We read: Rabbi Tarfon Omer: Lo Alecha Hamlacha Ligmor, V’lo Atah Ben Horein L’hibateyl Mimena. Rabbi Tarfon Says: It is not your responsibility to complete the task, but neither are you free to desist from it (Pirkei Avot 2:21).

The first half of the teaching, “it is not your responsibility to complete the task,” reminds us that we are not alone. Whether trying to win a baseball game, instill a Jewish identity, improve our community, or save the planet, there are others working toward the same goal. We should take strength from this knowledge. Part of a team – we are never as powerless as a grasshopper, not even in the face of a challenge as daunting as global warming.

The second half of Rabbi Tarfon’s teaching, “neither are you free to desist from it” implores us to do our part, no matter how many others are also contributing. Being part of a team is not an abdication of personal responsibility. In fact it increases our level of responsibility as we become accountable not only to ourselves but to one another. As the rabbis teach, Kol Yisrael Areivim Zeh La’zeh - All of Israel is responsible for one another.

Jacob and Clark, as you become Bar Mitzvah you assume responsibilities to your teammates in life – family, friends, fellow Jews, humanity, and God. Individually accountable for your actions, it is up to you to decide whether to act as an individual or a team player. And so I pray that as you go forward you are guided by the lesson we learn from the example of the spies in this weeks’ Torah and Haftarah readings. And as teammates in life, may we all take to heart six important words: There is no I in Team.