(יא) וַיְהִי בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם וַיִּגְדַּל מֹשֶׁה וַיֵּצֵא אֶל אֶחָיו וַיַּרְא בְּסִבְלֹתָם וַיַּרְא אִישׁ מִצְרִי מַכֶּה אִישׁ עִבְרִי מֵאֶחָיו. (יב) וַיִּפֶן כֹּה וָכֹה וַיַּרְא כִּי אֵין אִישׁ וַיַּךְ אֶת הַמִּצְרִי וַיִּטְמְנֵהוּ בַּחוֹל. (יג) וַיֵּצֵא בַּיּוֹם הַשֵּׁנִי וְהִנֵּה שְׁנֵי אֲנָשִׁים עִבְרִים נִצִּים וַיֹּאמֶר לָרָשָׁע לָמָּה תַכֶּה רֵעֶךָ. (יד) וַיֹּאמֶר מִי שָׂמְךָ לְאִישׁ שַׂר וְשֹׁפֵט עָלֵינוּ הַלְהָרְגֵנִי אַתָּה אֹמֵר כַּאֲשֶׁר הָרַגְתָּ אֶת הַמִּצְרִי וַיִּירָא מֹשֶׁה וַיֹּאמַר אָכֵן נוֹדַע הַדָּבָר. (טו) וַיִּשְׁמַע פַּרְעֹה אֶת הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה וַיְבַקֵּשׁ לַהֲרֹג אֶת מֹשֶׁה וַיִּבְרַח מֹשֶׁה מִפְּנֵי פַרְעֹה וַיֵּשֶׁב בְּאֶרֶץ מִדְיָן וַיֵּשֶׁב עַל הַבְּאֵר.
(11) And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown up, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one of his brethren. (12) And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he smote the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. (13) And he went out the second day, and, behold, two men of the Hebrews were striving together; and he said to him that did the wrong: ‘Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?’ (14) And he said: ‘Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? thinkest thou to kill me, as thou didst kill the Egyptian?’ And Moses feared, and said: ‘Surely the thing is known.’ (15) Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.
(מקיש רוצח לנערה המאורסה מה נערה המאורסה ניתן להצילה בנפשו אף רוצח ניתן להצילו בנפשו ונערה מאורסה גופה מנלן כדתנא דבי ר' ישמעאל דתנא דבי רבי ישמעאל (דברים כב, כז) ואין מושיע לה הא יש מושיע לה בכל דבר שיכול להושיע גופא
The murderer is compared to a betrothed maiden; just as a betrothed maiden must be saved [from dishonor] at the cost of his [her violator's] life, so in the case of a murderer, he [the victim must be saved at the cost of his [the attacker's] life. And from where do we know this of the betrothed maiden? As was taught by the School of R. Ishmael. For the School of R. Ishmael taught: [The betrothed damsel cried]; and there was none to save her, but, if there was a rescuer, he must save her by all possible means [including the death of her ravisher].
We see the moral compass in the lone story of Moses’s life in Egypt, when he kills an Egyptian man beating a Hebrew (Exodus 2:11-12). Moses, an Egyptian aristocrat, sees an Egyptian persecuting a Hebrew and acts swiftly to protect the vulnerable from the oppression of the strong. The next day, he tries to break up a fight between two Hebrews, proving that his motivating drive is prevention of abuse, not parochial loyalty to the Hebrews irrespective of context. A sine qua non of leadership is a commitment to fairness with an allergy to abuse.(Aryeh Bernstein) - See more at: http://jewschool.com/2013/12/19/31366/lessons-on-leadership-from-the-making-of-moses/#sthash.RJdaymVb.dpuf
(ה) הוא היה אומר, אין בור ירא חטא, ולא עם הארץ חסיד, ולא הבישן למד, ולא הקפדן מלמד, ולא כל המרבה בסחורה מחכים. ובמקום שאין אנשים, השתדל להיות איש.
(5) He would say, a brute does not fear sin, one who is ignorant cannot be devout, one who is bashful does not learn, one who is impatient cannot teach, one who engages in commerce excessively does not become wise. And in a place where there are no men [to do what is right]; strive to be that man.
Question for Thought: What is a situation where you may have witnessed someone rise to leadership in the absence of other leaders