How Many Callings Do You Have?

Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld
March 24, 2023 • 2 Nissan 5783 • Parshas Vayikra (Lev 1-5)
The purpose of this email is to create a call of duty at the Shabbat table. Please share.

 

Let's hit the ground running this week.... First question for your table: Do you have a calling?

(Based on last week's architecture theme, I suppose we could ask you if your calling is curved or straight....)

In the Torah, Moshe (Moses) is called three times:

1. At the Burning Bush - call to duty to lead the Jewish People.
2. At Mount Sinai - call to come up the mountain and receive the Torah.
3. At the Tabernacle - call to initiate the sacrificial service.

In certain ways, Moshe is our greatest role model.

            Each person is fit to be as righteous as Moshe, our teacher.
                                                                                   – Rambam, Hil. Teshuva 5:2

We're meant to compare our path to his, and to strive to follow in his footsteps. 

Perhaps like Moshe we each have three callings that we should be mindful of:

1. What's your calling vis-a-vis others (including family, city, society, globe)? How can you uniquely impact them?

2. What's your calling in the pursuit of Wisdom? Between your ears you have the most complex thing in the universe, vastly more powerful than the most powerful computers. What's your potential to develop it? You have a beautiful mind - are you deliberately learning something every day?

3. What's your calling vis-a-vis spirituality/prayer/meditation - are you exercising that muscle? How much could you achieve in a lifetime if you took a baby step every day?

Question for your table: Did I miss anything? Or do these three callings encompass every call worth answering?

Shabbat Shalom


Enjoyed this Table Talk? Vote with your fingers! Like it, tweet it, forward it....  

The mission of Jewish Spiritual Literacy, Inc. (JSLI) is to foster a paradigm-shift in spiritual and moral education in general, including but not limited to Jewish education, towards an experiential pedagogy that transforms students with its spiritual vision and relevance to their daily lives.

 

We envision a future when every human being can access and enjoy the incredible database of 3,000 years of Jewish wisdom.
 

See our Pesach countdown clock at the JSLI homepage....
If you'd like to join a special Torah Health and Fitness mailing list for updates on the forthcoming book, podcasts and other events, please visit the Torah Health and Fitness landing page.