The Trouble with Calling

This week's Torah portion, Vayikra, kicks off the Book of Leviticus with a familiar feeling theme—G-d calling to Moses and delivering a set of instructions. In this case, G-d delivers detailed instructions for the sacrifices Aaron, his sons, and their priestly descendants will perform on behalf of the Israelite people. These sacrifices are the Israelite's main means of communicating with G-d, but since the destruction of the First and later Second Temples, the Jewish people have been unable to communicate with G-d through sacrifices. So we turned to prayer. This week though, I'm talking a lot less about Judaism than I normally do, because while the Jewish people turned to prayer and ritual as our primary means of communicating with G-d, other religions have evolved out of Judaism, and created their own means of talking to G-d. So this week, if you'll indulge me, and in celebration of my 50th episode of Modern Torah, I'm exploring the idea of being called by G-d and searching for a means to respond. In particular, I'm taking hard look at the Puritan Christian theology that has so dramatically affected social policy and culture in the United States. I hope you'll stick with me, and definitely let me know what you think! I'm not a rabbi, so every week I try to put the Torah in conversation with the modern world around me. Sometimes it's hard, and sometimes it's easy, and I hope it's valuable to you. You can learn more about me and any of my podcasts at my website. Modern Torah is published weekly, on Friday mornings, anywhere you get your podcasts. Shabbat Shalom. :) I’m not a rabbi, so every week, I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Whether you’re studying Torah daily, or taking a moment to prepare for Shabbat, I hope you’ll make these ten minutes of Torah part of your week. You can learn more about me, and my work, on my website – www.nathanjvaughan.com New episodes weekly, anywhere you get Jewish podcasts. Subscribe on: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | iHeart Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria.