blogs/rabbi-huberman

Go Forth: My Personal Journey 

It was a rainy evening in November 2003 when I picked my wife up at Edmonton International Airport.

She got into the car and reached for her seatbelt. "I have something important to share with you," she said.

Patte was returning from a Conservative Women's League conference in Vancouver, where every year, delegates from Oregon, Washington, Alberta, and British Columbia meet to exchange stories, develop new skills, study and explore Judaism from a woman's perspective.

"The conference was incredible, and I've come to a decision," she said.

Conferences often energize us with new thoughts and insights. This time, for Patte, was no different.

"We're going to quit our jobs, and sell the house, and move to New York," she said. "And you're going to go to rabbinical school."

I took my eyes off the road for a moment, looked at her, turned on my right signal, and stopped on the highway shoulder.

"I've talked to my women's group," she went on calmly. "They think it's a great idea."

Finally, I found some words. "What are you talking about?"

And Patte told me about a workshop she'd attended about how, increasingly, Jews in their early- or mid-fifties were leaving their successful jobs to enter rabbinical seminaries to become pulpit rabbis.

I looked at her for a long moment, in silence, squinted, and then, signaling to the left, returned to the highway.

"We'll be home soon," I said. "I'll fix you some tea. You'll feel better."

The idea made no sense. Patte had a game-changing career as the director of an Assisted Living unit for geriatric patients with psychiatric conditions. Her work wasn't only successful: it was the happiest she'd ever been in a job.

I was the Communications Director for Alberta's Minister of Environment. We had a beautiful house in Edmonton's affluent west end. On top of that, I was finding fulfillment in teaching bar and bat mitzvah students. We were happy.

"Look," she said. "You're happy, but you could be so much happier. You come alive when you teach these children. Think about it. We need to rise up from our complacency, and go to a new land which God has in store for us.

"Besides," she added, "the Minister you work for thinks he's God. It's time you upgraded who you work for."

Her words were prophetic. I began to consider the future. Would I always be satisfied writing political speeches and talking points, or was there something more for us on the horizon? Would I continue to dwell within my complacency, or was I willing to take a chance on the future?

We decided to explore the idea. In the months to come, I would visit a number of New York seminaries, and ultimately landed at the Academy of Jewish Religion, a yeshiva which embraces teachers and teachings from all Jewish denominations.

A rabbinical opportunity opened at Congregation Tifereth Israel in Glen Cove, and the rest, as they say, is history.

This past week, I found myself thinking about that rainy evening, as I retraced the route I used to travel weekly from Edmonton, through Minneapolis to New York and back, during my first years of rabbinical school.  

I was in Edmonton to serve on a conversion Beit Din to conduct a final interview with a young woman, who, minutes later, at a temperature of forty-two degrees, dunked three times into Lake Wabamun, becoming an official member of the Jewish people -- or as we sometimes call it in northern Canada -- the Frozen Chosen.

The young woman, Jess, is the incredible partner of a family member, Kyle Huberman, who was my bar mitzvah student about fifteen years ago. But that's a story for another time.

As I witnessed the beginning of her journey, I thought about the years that have transpired since I left my "home and native land."

I remembered the words of my wife, and the long hours of travel which ultimately led me to a more satisfying career than I could have ever imagined.

At thirty thousand feet, I reflected upon that journey as I reviewed this week's Torah portion, titled Lech Lecha - Go Forth.

As the narrative begins, Abram -- as he was then known -- is satisfied with his life. The Torah tells us he is rich and well connected. He has a wonderful wife, Sarai, and, at age seventy-five, apparently has everything that he needs.

As he rests in his tent one day, he hears a voice from heaven commanding him to "Go forth from your native land and from your father's house to the land which I will show you." (Genesis 15:1)

Predictably, Abram and Sarai react with incredulity. But eventually, with renewed purpose, the couple sojourns to the land we know today as Israel.

In the years to come, Abraham and Sarah become parents. Abraham will mediate international conflicts. He will develop a personal relationship with God, and even influence some of God's decisions. And, in the ensuing generations, his ideas will help found Christianity and Islam. He will become the spiritual father to millions.

Because he listened to God's directive to "go forth."

That voice does not only manifest itself to Abraham in his tent: it calls to each of us. It inspires us to consider those journeys we have yet to travel. A project left undone, a destination unvisited, a skill untapped, and a goal we may be reluctant to reach for.

Is there a go forth in our lives that we've yet to pursue?

We will experience it here tomorrow as Jenny, our bat mitzvah, will talk about her journey as an abandoned baby in China, adopted by a loving Sea Cliff couple, who has grown into one of our congregation's brightest lights.

In her bat mitzvah speech to us tomorrow, she will share these words. "In many ways my life has been an adventure; in many ways as unique and excellent as Abraham and Sarah's was. It has inspired me to love adventures. As the Torah teaches us, 'life is about changes and challenges."

Stories of Lecha Lecha surround us. We, as North Americans, are descendants of those from other countries, who gathered the courage to sojourn from lives of stress and persecution to the land that God showed them.

I experienced it again on the flight from Minneapolis to Edmonton, as a woman from Ohio shared her excitement at being interviewed for a Canadian-based executive position.

With three teenage boys, a supportive husband, and a deep connection to her Baptist faith, her trip to Canada was an adventure, as she embraced the path that God had presented before her.

How many people do we meet each day who are locked in their complacency? How many times in our lives have we felt stagnant?

This week's Torah reading reminds us, that in spite of all the physical comforts which surround us, what perhaps what really matters is the fulfillment of the spiritual journey within. As the Kabbalistic tradition reminds us, each of us has a mission - a role in life - which we are destined to complete, and which only we can do.

Sometimes it takes, as we learn from Abraham and Sarah, leaving the place of our comfort, and embarking on a remarkable adventure. That may be where our greatest satisfaction lies.

As I look back at the past thirteen years, I remain grateful to my wife. Not only for the vision that she shared that day, but also for the sacrifices she has made. As she navigates a more complex health care system than she experienced in Canada, she has covenanted to accept whatever lesson God has in store for her in the United States.

As many of you are aware, she travels numerous times per week to Greenport to work as an addictions recovery nurse. She makes a difference.

That is her journey, and our journey for now, until at some point, we are enveloped by the spirit of God who once again will remind us, "Go forth from your native land....to the land that I will show you."

As the Torah reminds us this week, when we embrace that calling, as God said to Abraham, we can be a blessing; each in our own way.

And so I bless her in particular this week, for the prophecy she embraced, and for the adventures we have yet to experience.

It begs the question for each of us. Are we complacent, or are we open to the blessing of opportunity?

What journeys and adventures lay in store for us? The message of the this week's Torah reading is clear. Each of us has a mission. Each of us has a journey. Each of us has a purpose.

Are we too comfortable? What journey are we holding ourselves back from?

God has provided each of us with skills, and talents, and a roadmap to meet our own potential. God tells us repeatedly, as children of Abraham, to rise and Go Forth.

But ultimately, we must accept the challenge.

Ultimately, we must rise.

Shabbat shalom, v'kol tuv (all good things).

Rabbi Irwin Huberman