In what might be called the Jewish equivalent of the "Wave", our sedra describes an elaborate ceremony held to consecrate the tribe of Levi to holy service before HaShem and the nation. They were shaved clean, sprinkled with water and embraced by the people. And then each one was lifted up, first by Aharon and then by Moshe, and waved or twirled!
If we take this section literally, as the Midrash Vayikra Raba does, it means that Moshe and Aharon may have been among the greatest weightlifters of all time, hoisting no less than 22,000 Leviim in a single day!
I am tempted to say that from here we learn that with a new job comes a hefty raise. But there is clearly another crucial lesson: to do HaShem's work, you have to be strong.
I remember, as a semicha student, attending one of our Practical Rabbinics sessions. We listened to a recent graduate describing the life of a pulpit rabbi. He made the following remark: "To be a successful rav, you must be strong."
We asked him, "Do you mean strong in your convictions, strong in your knowledge of halacha, strong in your devotion to your congregants?"
"No," he said. "I mean strong in the physical sense - strong of arm and strong of leg. Able to walk in whatever weather, however far, to shul, to a Shalom Zachar or a Shabbat shiur. Strong enough to set up all the chairs for kiddush if you have to, or to shlep all the sidddurim and chumashim back to the shelf if the shamas is away. Strong enough, with enough stamina, to stand on Yom Kippur for 11 straight hours, speaking to a large crowd, maybe davening and layning, and then still have the strength to blow shofar at the end. That kind of strength!"
Many of our great Jewish heroes were physically strong: Avraham was a fierce warrior who could defeat whole armies; Yakov moved boulders; Moshe slew giants; Bar Kochva lifted trees out of the ground. They took quite seriously the famous directive of Pirkei Avot: "Be strong as a lion to do G-d's will." They were ready and able to do anything and everything for Klal Yisrael, because they were in top form.
Shuckling, or pushing into the smorgasbord line for an extra knish, may not be quite the exercise regimen one needs to make the most of our G-d-given mission. So, get in shape!
If we take this section literally, as the Midrash Vayikra Raba does, it means that Moshe and Aharon may have been among the greatest weightlifters of all time, hoisting no less than 22,000 Leviim in a single day!
I am tempted to say that from here we learn that with a new job comes a hefty raise. But there is clearly another crucial lesson: to do HaShem's work, you have to be strong.
I remember, as a semicha student, attending one of our Practical Rabbinics sessions. We listened to a recent graduate describing the life of a pulpit rabbi. He made the following remark: "To be a successful rav, you must be strong."
We asked him, "Do you mean strong in your convictions, strong in your knowledge of halacha, strong in your devotion to your congregants?"
"No," he said. "I mean strong in the physical sense - strong of arm and strong of leg. Able to walk in whatever weather, however far, to shul, to a Shalom Zachar or a Shabbat shiur. Strong enough to set up all the chairs for kiddush if you have to, or to shlep all the sidddurim and chumashim back to the shelf if the shamas is away. Strong enough, with enough stamina, to stand on Yom Kippur for 11 straight hours, speaking to a large crowd, maybe davening and layning, and then still have the strength to blow shofar at the end. That kind of strength!"
Many of our great Jewish heroes were physically strong: Avraham was a fierce warrior who could defeat whole armies; Yakov moved boulders; Moshe slew giants; Bar Kochva lifted trees out of the ground. They took quite seriously the famous directive of Pirkei Avot: "Be strong as a lion to do G-d's will." They were ready and able to do anything and everything for Klal Yisrael, because they were in top form.
Shuckling, or pushing into the smorgasbord line for an extra knish, may not be quite the exercise regimen one needs to make the most of our G-d-given mission. So, get in shape!