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Do You Have a Calling, or,How Abraham Left Home and Found Himself

Parshat Lech Lecha 5772

By Rabbi Mark Greenspan

Abraham had one. Moses had one. The prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah, each had one. That is, each ofthese biblical characters received a personal invitation to serve God. So do rabbis also have a calling?

Are we doing the work that we do because we were invited by God to this particular position in life?

Why give up all the opportunities for riches and prestige and fame just to serve as the humble rabbi ofa congregation?

Each year, members of the Oceanside Interfaith Council are invited to speak at our local high school as

part of "Human Relations Day." Apparently, someone thought that our teens would be interested in

knowing why rabbis, ministers, and priests decided to enter the ministry and serve through their

respective houses of worship. I'm not sure that are teenagers are dying to know the answer to thisquestion but, invariably, the question comes up: do we think we were called by God to do the work

that we do as members of the clergy?

Over the years I've met many ministers and priest who spoke of their ministry as a 'calling.' Very few

rabbis speak of their work in this fashion. When I reflect on my own decision to enter the rabbinate Ican't help but feel that it was anything but a calling. There were no bright lights, heavenly trumpets, or

overwhelming visions. Rather there was a slow, methodical, and plodding evolution which led to my

decision to go to rabbinical school. But maybe the calling was there all along and I just didnt see it.

Abram's calling comes suddenly and without preparation. Our parshah opens with the words, "Lech

lecha - Go forth from youre native land and from your father's house to the land I will show you. Iwill make you a great nation and bless you" Nothing prepares us, or our forefather, for this

invitation. It comes out of the blue, so to speak. For the seventy five years God is completely silent andthen without expectation, Abram is told "Leave home. Go to a new place. Everything is about to

change!"

But really, it doesnt. Abram's life is messy. No sooner does he get to Canaan and there's a famine. He

has to deal with hostile neighbors and bickering family members. He doesnt get along with his

nephew, Lot, and Abram nearly kills both of his sons. And, of course, there's the whole matter ofchildlessness. God keeps promising that he will be the father of a great nation and yet Abram and Sarai

have trouble having children

The Rabbis were troubled by Abram's 'so called' calling. They couldnt imagine that such an invitation

could come without preparation, and they couldnt understand how Abram could suddenly beginbelieving in God. So they told their own stories - to create a background for this event. They claimed

that God did not come to Abram. Just the opposite; Abram came to God through contemplation and

observation.

In one of the many midrashic tales we tell about the early life of our forefather, Abram comes to

believe in God by observing the world around him. In the time of Abram, most people worshipped the

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forces of nature. Our forefather was no different! One night, fearful of the dark, he looked up at the sky

and saw the moon and stars. He thought: "these heavenly bodies light up the darkness of the night so

maybe they're God," and he began worshipping them. The next morning, the sun came and chasedaway the darkness. So Abram worshipped the sun. Suddenly, it became dark and overcast and it began

to rain. Abram trembled as he heard thunder and saw lightening, and he thought: "The thunder is more

mighty than the sun so I will bow down to it. But the storm passed. Abram began to wonder, "Surely

there must be one power responsible for all the wonders," - and so he came to believe in a single powerresponsible for the creation.

What's the point of this story? This story suggests that Abraham did not discover God suddenly but

arrived at his faith through thought and contemplation. This Midrash also suggests that God did notfind Abram. Rather, Abram found God. The calling came later in life - and it was a product of the

choices and beliefs that he held to be sacred.

Being called to God's service, then, is not some dramatic or mysterious act. We're called by the

decisions we make in life. Or in the words of John Lennon: "Life is what happens while you're busy

making other plans." To have a calling then, does not necessarily mean we're summoned by God to a

particular task in life. It means that we have make choices which give meaning and purpose to ourlives and in some ways make the world a better place. Those choices create our "calling."

This, I believe, is the meaning of God's opening words to our forefather in today's Torah portion. God

says lech lecha, literally, "Go to yourself." God challenges Abram, "Leave home and go discover whoyou really are! As long as you stay home you'll never know your full potential or what you are capable

of. And you will never figure out the greater purpose of your life. You have come to believe in Me -

now go find out what you are going to do about it!"

Understood in this way, I would suggest that not only do rabbis and ministers have a "calling," but

each ofus has a calling of one sort or another. It doesnt matter whether we are standing on a pulpitteaching Torah or holding down a --- job in an office. We were called to that position. Each of us has

been blessed with gifts and opportunities. We have the potential to do something special - somethingthat no one else can do. And it is up to us to "go forth" and "find ourselves." It doesnt matter what ourage happens to be - Each of us is called to "Go forth."

There is a story of three men who were chipping stones beside the highway. A passerby asked the firstman what he was doing. He answered, "I'm chipping stones!" The second man answered "I'm earning a

living." The third man proudly announced: "I'm helping to build a great highway."

When we look at our lives - we have a choice. We can see ourselves as merely chipping away at the

stones or simply earning a living. Or, we can see ourselves building a great highway. The choice isours. We can see ourselves just getting by in life or we can define our lives as 'a calling.' No matter

who we are, we can see ourselves as doing God's work.

And that's true not only in our careers but in retirement. I dont think it's an accident that Abram is

seventy-five when he first receives his calling from God. You're never too young or too old to find

meaning and purpose in life. At each point in our lives we can discover new opportunities to finddignity and meaning in our daily tasks. There is still work we're called to do. And in each moment we

have the potential to make a difference in the world. In the words of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel:

"The old need a vision; not only recreation. They need a dream; not just a memory. It takes three things

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to attain a sense of significant being: God, a soul, and a moment. And all three are here. Just to be is a

blessing. Just to live is holy."

That is what it means to have a calling: to recognize that each moment of life has holy potential. Each

moment can make a difference.

So was I called to God's service? Understood in this way, most definitely. I believe I was called to doGod's work - but so were you! God's calling may come as a still small voice or it may come withdrama, unexpectedly. And I may even become aware of my calling after the fact. However we

encounter this "calling," I believe that there is something special that each of us was placed in thisworld to do.

So, how about you? What are you doing with your life? Are you chipping away at small stones or are

you building a great highway? If you listen carefully, you may hear God's calling!

Shabbat Shalom