Elul Day 19

Dear Elul Writers,

Last year, just around this time, I heard my name being called from the bimah at synagogue. I was not receiving an aliyah. In fact, the Torah was actively being read. And there, in the midst of the not-most-compelling part of Ki Tavo was my Hebrew name,

אֵלֶּה יַעַמְדוּ לְבָרֵךְ אֶת הָעָם עַל הַר גְּרִזִים בְּעָבְרְכֶם אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן שִׁמְעוֹן וְלֵוִי וִיהוּדָה וְיִשָּׂשכָר וְיוֹסֵף וּבִנְיָמִן

Eileh ya’amdu et lvarech et ha’am al har gerizim bavrechem et
hayarden shimon v’levi vi’yhuda v’yisaschar v’yoser u’vinyamin 

The following shall stand on Mount Gerizim when the blessing for the people is spoken, after you have crossed the Yarden : Shimon, Levi, Yehudah, Yissachar, Yoseph, and Benyamin.

I feel like the proper thing to say at this point is that I’d noticed this many times before in my life. But, in truth, I am not sure that I knew these two proper nouns ever stood side by side in the Torah. While I could blame my oversight on the triennial cycle or on my penchant for kibbitzing in the back of shul, I think that sometimes I just don’t hear my name being called.

My kids would all tell you that this is true. “Pa, I called your name like ten times!” And, yes, in my defense, there were probably onions sizzling in a pan and All Things Considered playing in the background, but still I have an impressive capacity to not hear the call. From ‘not being Attentive’ to being ‘completely Zoned out,’ we could all likely create a vidui for our distractedness. Yet, in this month of Elul, we do seek to quiet down, to listen more fully, to hear the call. 

Prompt

In terms of being called, we have a whole book of the Torah that takes its name from the act of calling. Sefer Vayikra, which is called Leviticus in English (Latin?), would be better translated as “He Called.” Hearing our name called can sometimes carry an implicit demand; “what do they need now?!” But, Rashi, in his first comments on Vayikra asserts that there is a type of calling that is לְשׁוֹן חִבָּה / lashon chibah / the language of affection and intimacy. Is it possible to experience being called as an act of love? If you can quiet down the distractions for just a few minutes, what is it that you are being called to this year? Not all of us will be able to hear our names called directly from the Torah (sorry, Raizel Bluma), but if we begin to mend our torn attention we might hear what we are being called to in 5786.

Good Shabbos,
Yarden Shimon