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What does it mean to have a ‘calling’ – to be called to a career, a family life, or a new place? We spend our lives making names, shemot, for ourselves, shaping how we want to be known and recognised. The book of Exodus, which we begin reading this Shabbat, is titled Shemot, meaning ‘Names.’ In it, Moses is called at the burning bush to liberate the Hebrews. He resists this calling five times before reluctantly agreeing, struggling with a heavy dose of imposter syndrome. Yet Moses recognises this as a decisive moment. Most of us will experience such moments, even if they aren’t quite as grandiose as a burning bush. Many of us feel called to do hard things; I am frequently humbled by those who undertake extraordinary tasks simply because they felt called to do so. The author James Baldwin put it this way: “You have to go the way your blood beats. If you don’t live the only life you have, you won’t live some other life, you can’t live any life at all.” (From one of his final interviews with Richard Goldstein, discussing love and identity). Ultimately, I suppose each of us is called to attend to our own life and create the ‘name’ that only we can carry. Shabbat Shalom, N.B. Talking of being called I wanted to remind of our Holocaust Memorial Day evening Wednesday 28 January with the film and life story of Marika Henriques, Hungarian Jew and survivor. See details below. Please join us. |
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