blogs/rabbi-huberman

Growing up, I never had the ambition to become a rabbi. I went to university to study journalism and communications.

In my early days as a newspaper reporter, editor and publisher—fresh after Watergate—I exposed my share of injustices.

In my role as a government press secretary, I supported and even rescued some politicians from their own loose lips or the attacks of an occasionally hostile media.

But one day I heard a call—not from God—from my wife. After returning from a Jewish women’s conference, she took me aside and said: “I see you as a rabbi.”

Perhaps it was a call from a higher power to leave what I was doing and contribute something different—and hopefully better—to the world.

And here we are.

Earlier this week, I was reading rabbinical commentaries relating to this week’s parashah, Vayikra—also the name of the third book of the Torah—which begins with the words: “And God called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting.”

Several interesting questions arise from this verse. Most importantly, perhaps, is why do we have two similar words, which begin this week’s parashah? God called out to Moses—and then—God spoke.

Our Sages tell us that God does not waste or repeat words.

And then it occurred to me: Moses—like many of us—earlier in the Torah, took on a second career, a new calling.

The Book of Exodus describes how he leaves his pampered life in Pharaoh’s court and becomes the leader of the Jewish people.

The Torah describes his dramatic rise to power:  Burning bushes, staffs turning into snakes, plagues, the sea parting, the Ten Commandments.

For most of us, our mid-life career change is not as dramatic.

But here we are, entering the third book of the Torah, with the Jewish people enroute to the Promised Land.

By all accounts, Moses’ work should be done. His second career has come to completion. Time to retire.

But God opens the third book of the Torah by calling out: “Your work is not done.”

Moses must still shepherd the Israelite’s through the hot desert to their eventual home in Israel. 

I recall an intriguing quote from the late American essayist, Logan Pearsall Smith:

“The test of a vocation—of any job—is the love of the drudgery it involves.”

And so, as we begin the third book of the Torah—perhaps the most detail-laden and arguably irrelevant of all—God reaches out to Moses, using a word that does not appear any other place in the Torah, and provides Moses “with the call.”

The true test for Moses—now that the flashy stuff, the miracles are over—then becomes: Are you willing to put up with the drudgery of complaining people, the revolt of jealous rivals, the plagues and wars?

Are you also willing to complete “the paperwork” that accompanies life’s journey?

For true achievement often requires solitary preparation and follow-up. 

True leaders do not delegate the drudgery. They reflect upon the aftermath to prepare for life’s next challenge.

So, perhaps it is no accident that Vayikra begins with a call, because it is a book about sacrifices, and our work and careers often involve sacrifice.

Whether we are physicians, lawyers, nurses, accountants, artists, parents, cooks, tradesmen, engineers, there have been times when we have celebrated accomplishments. But what makes that exhilaration so satisfying is the hard and often unsung work that was required along the way.

We have also witnessed our children and grandchildren scoring the winning goal, shining at a recital or being accepted to university—and graduating. But along the way, how many tears have we had to dry? How many “all-nighters” have we endured.

As I reflect upon my own journey as an average student in elementary school, I remember the endless hours of studying the deep and complex pages of Talmud or Jewish law.

But as my Mother—of blessed memory—reminded me as a child, with many mentors reinforcing it along the way, “The hard today will be easy tomorrow.” 

As I listen regularly to the Cantor practicing musical scales and learning new melodies, I am reminded of God’s universal call highlighted to each of us in the first sentence of the book of Vayikra.

“Moses, here is your calling, and it will require continued hard work and yes, drudgery.”

And Moses accepts. He embraces not just the glory of leading the Children of Israel to the Promised Land but also enduring the unsung challenges of leadership along the way.

Sensitive situations, hardships, occasional bouts of self-doubt, and even frustration and anger.

That will be Moses’ calling through the wilderness over the next 40 years.

The former chief rabbi of England, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, once noted, “For each of us—God has a task: work to perform, a kindness to show, a gift to give, love to share, loneliness to ease, pain to heal, or broken lives to help mend.”

Hearing God’s call is what gives a life meaning and purpose.

But ultimately, like Moses this week, accepting that call, has put us exactly where we need to be, for nothing comes without hard work.

So, as we reflect upon God’s call to Moses in this week’s Torah portion, let us be inspired to ask ourselves:

Despite all that we have endured, are we glad—like Moses—that we accepted the call?

As we ask ourselves at this point in our lives, “Is there any place else we’d rather be?”

Shabbat shalom, v’ kol tuv.

Rabbi Irwin Huberman