In light of recent rabbinic scandals, Stewart Weiss examines the duties of the congregational rabbi. Neither eloquence nor erudition, he argues, is the most important requirement for the position. Above all, a rabbi must lead by personal example:

The rabbi is first and foremost a spiritual role model. He embodies the personality traits . . . that one should seek to emulate, that we want to give over to our children. He is human—not super-human—but he has worked hard to master the moral, godly behavior that defines what a good Jew represents. It’s hard to describe exactly what these traits are, but, like all intrinsic values, we certainly know them when we see them. [This godly behavior is] part stately bearing, part affinity for the common man. It has a face of kindness and compassion, ever-ready to accept, but at the same time it projects a high standard and an absolute confidence that we, too, can reach that level of excellence.

Joy is the principal emotion that should radiate from the rabbi, reflecting an inner satisfaction with being a Jew. If there is any anger, it is directed at injustice and corrupted behavior. If there is sadness, it is focused on the plight of the less fortunate among us, empathizing with the hardships that life often throws at us, and the suffering we have long endured as a people at the hands of our enemies.

Early Friday morning, Israel attacked military installations near the Iranian cities of Isfahan and nearby Natanz, the latter being one of the hubs of the country’s nuclear program. Jerusalem is not taking credit for the attack, and none of the details are too certain, but it seems that the attack involved multiple drones, likely launched from within Iran, as well as one or more missiles fired from Syrian or Iraqi airspace. Strikes on Syrian radar systems shortly beforehand probably helped make the attack possible, and there were reportedly strikes on Iraq as well.

Iran itself is downplaying the attack, but the S-300 air-defense batteries in Isfahan appear to have been destroyed or damaged. This is a sophisticated Russian-made system positioned to protect the Natanz nuclear installation. In other words, Israel has demonstrated that Iran’s best technology can’t protect the country’s skies from the IDF. As Yossi Kuperwasser puts it, the attack, combined with the response to the assault on April 13,

clarified to the Iranians that whereas we [Israelis] are not as vulnerable as they thought, they are more vulnerable than they thought. They have difficulty hitting us, but we have no difficulty hitting them.

Nobody knows exactly how the operation was carried out. . . . It is good that a question mark hovers over . . . what exactly Israel did. Let’s keep them wondering. It is good for deniability and good for keeping the enemy uncertain.

The fact that we chose targets that were in the vicinity of a major nuclear facility but were linked to the Iranian missile and air forces was a good message. It communicated that we can reach other targets as well but, as we don’t want escalation, we chose targets nearby that were involved in the attack against Israel. I think it sends the message that if we want to, we can send a stronger message. Israel is not seeking escalation at the moment.