Leader’s Heirs

Parsha Curiosities: Parshat Pinchas Cracking the Code on mysterious themes & ideas in the weekly Parsha! ’ Upon divine confirmation that he wouldn’t enter the Promised Land, Moses forcefully asks G-d to assure him that the Children of Israel not be left like a “flock without a shepherd.” Our Sages highlight the unique introductory sentence, telling us that it’s a one-of-a-kind biblical verse! Rashi elucidates how it expresses the ultimate paradigm of true leadership and the selfless nature of Moses. At this fateful moment, his response was single-minded concern for his people. Yet Rashi comments on the very next verse that Moses said “it’s time to ask for my own needs, that my son should inherit my high position.” How can we reconcile this egregiously glaring inconsistency?