a jew’s calling in life is to follow the shulchan aruch. essentially it is your job to folow halacha and the torah to the very best of your ability. what happens past that is out of our control, but that is our calling.
it may not sound as glamourous as we may like, but one an never know the impact they have on the world by simply doing what they are supposed to. everybody wants something glorious with their life. everyone has big dreams, goals, and aspirations. however we dont realize what we can and do accomplish on a daily basis by simply living our lives according to the torah.
there is a difference between average and mediocre. that difference is that while mediocre is simply acceptable, average can be extraordinary.
picture this scene: you’re walking down the street and you see a man walking opposite you with a distraught look on his face and a tear in his eye. you know the torah says v’ahavta l’reacha kamocha so you make eye contact with him and wish him a good morning and hatzlacha. you continue on your way.
what you don’t know is that earlier that day, that man lost his job because he had been coming late for the past month. his wife is in the hospital with cancer, and the doctors aren’t sure she will make it. they are trying everything they can, but she isnt responding well to treatment. she has begun losing hope, and as a result so has her husband.
he was on his way to see her when you smiled at him and offered your friendly greeting. he was worried, how he would pay for the treatment now that he had lost his job, and how he and his 6 children will manage without their beloved mother. but there you were, offering him a kind word and a smile when it seemed that the world was closing in on him ready to devour him. when it seemed that he had nothing left. when it seemed he had not a friend at all, you were there for him to offer your smile and a kind word.
your phone rings. it’s your wife asking you to pick up a few things from the grocery. you smile to yourself, roll your eyes, and get to it. your exchange with that man already forgotten.
that man however, because of you, wipes the tear from his eyes. he looks up at heaven, and with a hint of a smile on his lips he thanks Hashem for all that he has and offers a prayer for his wife and children. he continues to the hospital where he sees his wife lying there on the bed white as the sheets enveloping her, wasting away. tubes trail out of her arm, and her face is contorted in pain. he sits down beside her on the bed and smiles down at his wife. “Chana, are you awake?” she nods her head. still she does not look at him.
he takes her face in his hands and turn it toward him. “everything will be alright. B’ezras Hashem you will get better. you will return home in time for pesach, and we will celebrate your liberation from this hospital and your disease. never give up hope. we’re all here for you.”
she looks up at him with hope in her eyes and barely manages to whisper “yekusiel, what changed?” you seem different.”
“i met a friend on the way over here” he says with a smile on his face and a tear in his eye, “he reminded me that we are not alone in this world. he reminded me that no matter how bleak a situation may seem, one should never lose hope.”
she looks away from her husband, a smile on her face now as well and falls into a gentle sleep as he sits by her bedside holding her hand.
weeks pass and miraculously she recovers. the doctors cannot explain it, but somehow her tumors have shrunk and the chemo seems to be working. she arrives home a week before pesach, and the entire family celebrates their mothers liberation from sickness and the hospital.
all because of one simple action that you did. a seemingly insignificant action. a seemingly AVERAGE action. however, it was far from average. it was extraordinary.
you don’t need to find your calling in life. live life as you should and your calling will find you.