Another D'var Torah

I had the "honor" of giving the Dvar Torah on Friday night at the retreat for the start of the summer program...


The saying informs us that there is no "I" in team. I see this on two different levels. One is the basic idea that the letter "I" does not appear in the word. The other is the idea that teamwork is a must because one person can’t do everything. In this week's Torah portion, Moses has his authority over the people Israel challenged. Korach, a Levite, bands together with men from other tribes of Israel, to question the choices that Moses has been making on behalf of the people. He questions why Moses has been in charge, in a position that brings him closer to God. Moses, because of his early connection to God, has retained his status and continued his role as a leader of the Jewish people. He is given opportunities to bow out and let others take charge, but he remains devoted to bringing the people to the land of Israel. His morale and determination are challenged, but he continues to persevere and keep his faith that God will help him succeed.

In our modern lives we are constantly confronted with the claim that our professional career path makes us more Jewish. My friends tell me they are "bad Jews" and I retort asking what makes me a "good Jew" in comparison. It seems that being a Jewish professional makes me a good jew. Who knew? Scandal is as ubiquitous in the Jewish professional world as in any other. But we continue to be held on a higher plane, set forth as the example.

This morning we volunteered for two simple hours to help divide food for SOVA’s pantries. A big deal, no. But yes, it actually was. We had a contagious energy and a motivation to succeed. Yes, we had each other. We fed off the spirit of our classmates. But isn't that spirit and determination something that we can find in our communities? Aren’t there lay leaders in our communities who have that same spirit that we have? After all, they too are part of the “chosen people,” Israel. Aren’t our lay leaders and communities capable of finding that same spiritual holiness and determination that we have?
In Korah’s argument of what Moses was doing wrong as the leader, he claimed that neither he nor anyone else was righteous. He thought all were equal at this level of unrighteousness. One Hasidic rabbi asserted that in reality this was a false modesty by Korach – an attempt to trivialize the importance of the community as a whole. This rabbi said that Moses was actually modest because of his belief that “he was not righteous but that all the Jewish people were." All people Israel are holy - whether in a leadership position or not. Moses is as holy as Korach, who is as holy and you and I. We have all been "chosen" as the Jewish people - and we get to do this together as a community.

I know that I am suggesting two opposing ideas here. On one hand, we here are special. As Jewish professionals, we have chosen a career that sets high expectations for us and offers scattered support from the overall community, which can lessen our motivation. But, on the other hand, we also need to be part of the community that we are serving, because they too are holy before God. How do we balance this predicament? Ironically, while there is no “I,” there is a "me" in team. Sometimes we need to step forward as an individual to help the group or the community to be even better, even more holy.
As we embark upon this summer of learning– whether it be our first or second, or 15th – let us remember that we, like Moses, are on board to help to keep our community holy. We have been selected for this role to lead our lay leaders and our community. May our leadership find us enhancing the holiness of our community as respected leaders counted among the constituency.