Any of you make New Year’s Resolutions? How’s that going for you on January 6th, almost one week into the new year? 

Today’s portion contains an unforgettable scene. Moses, shepharding his father-in-law’s flock of sheep, sees something odd. A bush that is burning but is not consumed. It is not burning up. Why is this? What is going on? He is curious and instead of backing away or running away, he draws closer and hears a voice calling, “Moses, Moses!” “Hineini, Here am I.” Whose calling? Who’s there? That voice continues to call. 

“And [God] said, “Do not come closer! Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground!” and continued, “I am the God of your father’s [house]—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.” 

 

Later: 

 

“Moses said to God, “When I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers’ [house] has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is [God’s] name?’ what shall I say to them?”  

And God said to Moses, “Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh,” continuing, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites, ‘Ehyeh sent me to you.’” 

 

Vayikra…and He called is language that is sprinkled throughout the Torah.  

 

What does it mean to hear the voice of G-d? We have different understandings of that. For the Psalmist it was a powerful voice able to shatter ceders of Lebanon. For Elijah, it was a still small voice. Can we even hear it at all today? What does it mean to be called. 

 

As I have written before, “When I first thought I wanted to become a rabbi, I tried to talk about it in the language of call. After all, I grew up in Grand Rapids and I had friends who felt “called”. At that stage, people closest to me thought perhaps it was a mental health issue. That I was hearing voices (I was not) and the Jewish community at that stage was not comfortable with this language, having ceded it to Christianity. Often times in theology that there is a pendulum that swings and now it is more acceptable to talk about the rabbinate this way. But calling is not limited to professional clergy.” 

Each of us is called to do something. To be something. Each of us can hear that call. There is something that is uniquely ours to do, some unique role we play. Figuring out what that call might be adds meaning to our lives.  

Teachers often describe their work as a calling. Doctors, nurses, first responders. But not just those. Rabbi Jeffry Salkin in his book Being God’s Partner that I describe as What Color is Your Parachute for Jews tells this story:  

“The boss of the moving crew was a delightful, crusty gentleman, a dead ringer for Willie Nelson. I had never met anyone so enthusiastic about his or her work, and I asked him the source of that enthusiasm.  

“‘Well, you see, I’m a religious man,’ he answered, ‘and my work is part of my religious mission.’  

“‘What do you mean?’ I asked.  

“‘Well, it’s like this. Moving is hard for most people. It’s a very vulnerable time for them. People are nervous about going to a new community, and about having strangers pack their most precious possessions. So, I think God wants me to treat my customers with love and to make them feel that I care about their things and their life. God wants me to help make their changes go smoothly. If I can be happy about it, maybe they can be, too’” (Jeffrey Salkin, Being God’s Partner). 

Frederick Buechner, of blessed memory,  said that “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”  

Our calling may be our work. It may be something as Buechner suggests we are passionate about whether that is paid work, our vocation or our avocation, those things that we do as our volunteer work. It maybe working on hunger and homelessness issues. It may be working with kids in Girl Scouts or mentoring. It may be literacy work. The possibilities are endless. Many of us in this group are retired. We might not want to be defined by our “work.”  

Yesterday we began a process of listening. It is holy work. It is wholy work.  

In my weighwatchers group, now WW,  we have been asked for the last several years to choose a word to represent our year. Last year my word was “Hineini. Here am I.” Just like Moses said in today’s portion. “I am here. I am still here.” This year I surprisingly chose a different word. 

 

It seems to me that this is setting an intention, a kavanah or the year. 

 

Kavanah is the Hebrew word for direction, intention, or purpose. It is often used in connection with prayer. I describe kavanah as the words behind the words as opposed to keva which is the fixed order or structure of the service. But it also is the intention when doing a ritual act. How do you intend your spirit, your neshama, when you light shabbat candles, for example. It is not supposed to be rote or mechanical.  

 

Abraham Joshua Heschel, whose birthday was Jan. 11, we will talk more about him next week, in his classic work God in Search of Man, explains that performing a mitzvah without proper kavanah is inadequate because while it might have a positive effect on the world, it leaves the doer of the mitzvah unaffected. The purpose of Jewish practice, he writes, is transformation of the soul. 

“A moral deed unwittingly done may be relevant to the world because of the aid it renders unto others. Yet a deed without devotion, for all its effects on the lives of others, will leave the life of the doer unaffected. The true goal for man is to be what he does.” 

He also said as quoted in Gates of Prayer: “Prayer cannot bring water to a parched field, nor mend a broken bridge, nor rebuild a ruined city, but prayer can water an arid soul, mend a broken heart and rebuild a weakened will.” 

So, what then is our intention for the year? Your personal intention for the year. What if we just choose one word, rather than making a new year’s resolution. There is a new book, One Word that will change your life. It recommends three steps to finding your unique word and living it out. That is a calling.  

 

Here is my summary: 

 

Step One: Look in. Find some quiet time. No phone. No television. No barking dog. This might be early in the morning before everyone else gets up or late at night or out on a walk by yourself. It is about preparing your heart. (We sing this verse) 

Ask yourself, what do I need, what is in my way, what needs to go. 

 

Step Teo, Look up 

Just like Moses, G-d has a place in this. What is G-d calling you to do.  Each of us, created in the image of the divine, with that divine spark has a unique place in this world, a unique thing that we can contribute. Part of the challenge of finding our word is slowing down enough to see the burning bush, to discover what our contribution might be. Moses’s one word might have been Hineini. I am here. Or it might have been Go!  

 

G-d too has a word. G-d reveals G-d’s name here. Eyehe asher Eyeye. The Hebrew is uncertain but something like I will be what I will be. I am what I am. I will be. What will you be? How will you incorporate G-d in your life? 

 

Finding your word is more than finding a good word, it’s a G-d word, just like Moses at the burning bush. Here’s the trick. I can’t tell you where or when you will receive it. Sometimes, most times? It comes as a surprise. You might be out for a walk. You might be going to sleep at night, or getting up in the morning. You might be journaling. You might be watching TV. You might discover a burning bush! It may feel like that when you find it.  

 

Step Three: Look Out 

Once you find, discover your word Then it is about living out your word. Suddenly you may see it everywhere. Tell your friends, your family, your co-workers what your word it. Put it up in places in your house to remind you. Put it on your computer. Make a One Word file. Soon you will see it everywhere and it will provide a focus, an intention. It may even change your life.  

 

Last night we began to brainstorm our words: 

Family, independence, heal, kindness, empathy, compassion, joy, resilience 

 

Anyone know immediately what your word might be? 

We added peace, smile, grow, thrive, pay attention, determination, respect, listen, learn, responsibility. (We may have forgotten one or two! Feel free to tell me in the comments your word.) 

 

May this be year of hearing, of focus, of kavanah, of growth.