{"id":62873,"date":"2019-09-13T15:42:58","date_gmt":"2019-09-13T12:42:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=62873"},"modified":"2023-04-09T12:33:38","modified_gmt":"2023-04-09T09:33:38","slug":"leadership-family-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/leadership-family-first\/","title":{"rendered":"Leadership: Family First!"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[858,931,379,806,397],"acf":{"old_id":"62873","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":33992,"related_cahpter":"306","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Elisha receives the mantle, and reminds us what it means to be a Child of Israel","content":"

There are very few times when the Bible shows us a prophet selecting his own successor. We think of Moses with young Joshua, although we were never privy to Joshua\u2019s childhood or family of origin. But in I Kings 19, we listen in as God instructs Elijah to select Elisha to be his disciple and his successor.<\/span><\/p>\n

You might think that, for an ambitious young Israelite, being told you get to take over for the most prominent prophet of the generation would get you to drop everything and run after the master. Ambition has blinded people for lesser prizes. But Elisha teaches us a lesson by the very compassion of his response.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Elijah throws his mantle over his chosen talmid<\/em> (disciple) as a signal that he is now the designated next prophet. Elisha runs after his new master, abandoning the twelve oxen he was guiding to plow the fields, and his one sentence to Elijah is to get permission for a proper goodbye to his parents: \u201cLet me kiss my mother and father goodbye and I will follow you (1 Kings 19:20).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A prophet grounded in Jewish values and nurtured by the transmission from one generation to another knows that honoring parents is the bedrock upon with any authentically-Jewish ethos rises. We learn to love beyond our own self interest when we notice the self-sacrifice of our parents and allow it to lift us up in gratitude and devotion. How telling, then, that at the very moment of his spiritual mission\u2019s launch, Elisha\u2019s first thoughts are to give affection and honor to the people who bore him, raised him, and prepared him for the spotlight.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not only does he go and kiss them, but apparently single-handedly, he prepares a feast for them and his community. It does take a village, after all. Not only through his words, but in his deeds, Elisha reminds us what it means to be a Child of Israel and a servant of the Holy One. We are born in a web of gratitude and love, and we become our best selves because of that selfless love. We owe those sources of devotion and care our thanks, our acknowledgement, and our care in return. Elisha models all three.<\/span><\/p>\n

And only then, after kissing, feeding, and thanking, only then does Elisha stride toward his destiny: \u201cThen he arose and followed Elijah and became his attendant.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":62874,"id":62874,"title":"1kings19-ElijahandElishaj","filename":"1kings19-ElijahandElishaj.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings19-ElijahandElishaj.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/leadership-family-first\/1kings19-elijahandelishaj\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"1kings19-elijahandelishaj","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":62873,"date":"2019-09-13 12:42:54","modified":"2023-04-30 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