וַיִּקְרָ֖א אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה
“If you have learned much Torah, do not claim credit for yourself, because for such a purpose were you created.” (Pirkei Avot 2:9)
Each day, a Jewish idea inspires me to recognize the good—or God—in every person.
I truly believe that there is a spark of good, or God, within every human being. We call it our soul. And therefore, “There has never been anyone quite like you, nor will there ever be.”
My mentor, Rabbi Joseph Ehrenkranz of blessed memory, once shared, “If you need someone to perform brain surgery on you please don’t come to me. Big mistake.
“But if you ever want to know a little about spiritually, God and Judaism, I may be your guy.”
It means everyone has a certain skill—a passion—a personality trait unlike anyone else, and when we combine these traits, what a wonderful and diverse species we become.
I want to be honest:. Every year, when the Academy Awards are aired, I choose to find something—anything—else to do.
With some notable exceptions, the red-carpet ceremony idolizes a group of people—often pampered and exalted—who, for some reason, capture the envy and obsession of millions.
Do I care who is wearing what, by which designer? Do I care about the “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous?” Passionately not.
I recall my mother gently chastising me as a child for viewing television game shows. While I enjoyed watching The Price is Right or Concentration, my mother of blessed memory would always say.
“Turn off the television. These people winning all these prizes have done nothing noteworthy to deserve it. Better to put the skills God gave you into helping others.”
Indeed, each one of us possesses a certain skill, sensitivity, talent or expertise that makes us unique. It’s what makes human beings—individually and collectively—so inspiring.
Pirkei Avot, Judaism’s 2,000-year-old collection of wise rabbinical sayings, gives voice to this. It warns us against becoming too “full of ourselves.”
It shares: “If you have learned much Torah, do not claim credit for yourself, because for such a purpose were you created.” (Pirkei Avot 2:8)
This bit of wisdom, attributed to Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai affirms that each of us has a purpose in life.
Moreover, our tradition forbids raising ourselves above others—whether we are a scholar, scientist, physician, athlete, actor or rock star.
This week, as we begin the third book of the Torah, titled Vayikra—“And the God called to Moses”—we are introduced to an anomaly that has for centuries puzzled our rabbis.
The last letter of the first word—“called to”—is printed about 30 percent smaller than the other letters. (Please see above.)
Our scholars note that at various times in the Torah, God seems to favor Moses far more than others.
The Torah tells us that “God would speak to Moses face to face, as one person speaks to another.” (Exodus 33:11)
The verse indicates that Moses and God had a special relationship.
Within today’s society, where so many boast about their personal relationships and connections with the highest levels of business, government, sports and entertainment, it could have similarly been easy for Moses to become aloof and demand the red-carpet treatment.
But, in all things, Moses remained humble.
Our rabbis posit that is why the minimized “aleph” appears at the beginning of the first word of the third book of the Torah: Moses never let his leadership, nor his close relationship with God go to his head.
Within our synagogue community we are blessed with about 700 unique and talented individuals.
We have among us those who have won Emmy awards or have earned national and international professional awards.
We are blessed with former journalists and scholars. One of our congregants leads a team close to discovering a cure for many cancers.
Yet the common denominator among all these human beings is humility.
I believe that the “mitzvah” of humility, as demonstrated by Moses, extends beyond those who have earned public recognition.
Doctor, lawyer, water carrier, woodchopper, actor, scientist, housewife or husband—each one of us does what God gave us the potential to do.
Whether you are a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or other role model, there is a unique purpose for you under God’s heaven.
For God does not make duplicates.
Do we want some praise when we have achieved something small, medium or great? Yes, of course. But let us not dwell there.
Because, like Moses, we are reminded never to let success turn into “chametz”—the bloat of our souls.
More than 2,000 years ago, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai reminded us to remain humble before all.
Pirkei Avot and this week’s Torah portion inspire us to consider:
“Take no special credit for it—since you were created for this very purpose.”
Shabbat shalom, v’kol tuv.
Rabbi Irwin Huberman