Get an MBA

Rabbi Pinchas entered the Beit Midrash, the House of Study, and saw his students talking animatedly.  When they saw their master, they quickly fell silent.  Rabbi Pinchas’ curiosity piqued.  He asked, “What were you talking about?”  

One student shyly murmured, “We were talking about the yetser ha-ra, the evil urge, that chases after us day and night, whispering for us to do bad things.”

“Do not worry,” said the venerable rabbi.  “You are not advanced enough that the yetser ha-ra is chasing you, you are chasing it.”

An MBA, life’s primary objective.

Do I really need one, an MBA?  It stands for Moses, Brothers and Abraham (MBA).  What they had in common was that they were all shepherds guiding their flocks or ones in their care.

The great leaders of our past started out as simple shepherds.  Their task was to protect the most vulnerable.  In fact, midrash reveals that this was why Moses was singled out by G-d to take B’nai Yisrael out of bondage. The rabbis tell that when a young lamb wandered off to graze far from the flock nothing would stop Moses from walking miles to find them and carry them on his back to the safety of the flock.  G-d said, “If this man cares so much for the weakest of these helpless animals he will be the one to lead My people out of slavery.  He will ensure that all My children are safe.”

 

The same is true of our other founders.  Abraham argued with G-d to save even the dregs, the worst of humanity, from the impending doom of Sodom.  Jacob vehemently argued against revenge.  The qualifications for each of the vaunted leaders of our people chose to assist the weak, contend for the lives of each person even if that meant contending with G-d!

 

So we walk through life with its many challenges.  Our hearts are in a state of constant agitation over Israel.  “As it goes with Israel, so it goes with the Jewish people.”  Our destiny is tightly bound with it.  This is a truism even if we disapprove of the present government.

 

We are also rightly concerned with unjustified wars like the Ukraine, ongoing oppression in Burma, the latest mass shooting in America….   But what about the Hate Crime bill in South Carolina that cannot seem to pass in our senate and legislature?  What about the person in our congregation who cannot pay their funeral bill?  A member who lives in less than adequate housing, filled with mold and insects?  The food pantry that is stocked with food that we were happy to get rid of instead of something tasty and nourishing?  The families who sit alone during shiva.  These people are not the ones we have partied or go on vacation with, but they are the members of our flock of which each of us is a shepherd.  That is why we have our community; so that we can support the weak as the wheel of life turns.

 

Wisdom is discerning which voice in our head we choose to hear.  Is it the voice of the yetser ha-ra insisting that we fill our bellies and turn our heads away from the eyesores that we would rather not see?  That is as Rabbi Pinchas warned his students.  Or does wisdom live in us, so we do righteous deeds, like picking up the lost lambs and fighting governmental policies that are wrong --- staving off the insidious voices that want to derail us?

When Moses was ready to retire, he picked Joshua to take over the mantle of leadership.  Moses heard G-d tell him to find a man of integrity and determined spirit to lead the people.  They got a new shepherd.

Get an MBA.  That will safely guide you to a life path that is meaningful and one that will make a difference.