This past week I spent a day in PA. I started out in Hershey, not because I was taking the kids to Hershey Park, but to visit a local Jew in the hospital. On the way home I went to put up mezuzahs by a Jewish woman who lives by the PA/MD border.
Being a Rabbi comes with all sorts of perks and challenges. Ultimately, my days needs to be guided by "what does Hashem want from me today?".
In this week's Torah portion, it tells us that "The princes (tribe leaders) brought the Shoham stones". Since all the dedications for the tabernacle were brought before they got there, they didn't know what to offer. So, they donated the Shoham stones, etc.
A leader's primary responsibility is to ensure that the community members fulfill their role. Ideally, if leaders execute their role effectively, the people will rise to the occasion and contribute all they can. This is exactly what happened by the building of the tabernacle. The only contributions left for the tribe leaders to bring were those that the people simply did not possess.
The leaders still got a little flack. They were lax in ensuring that they too can partner in the mishkan building process. While a leader's primary responsibility is to guide and inspire others, he cannot neglect his own personal service of G‑d.
We too are each a leader. Sometimes of others and sometimes of ourselves. While we need to make sure that others are taken care of, we also must be on top of our own spiritual self-care.
Why shlep to Hershey, PA? Because when you are in a hospital far from home, you need to know that your community leaders care about you. Why the mezuzahs? Because this woman is making sure that her family is taking care of their spirituality and it's my job to support that. Additionally, doing mitzvahs for others is my own spiritual self-care. After all, the Baal Shem Tov writes that a soul comes into the world for 70-80 years just to do a favor for another, spiritually or physically.
Have a good Shabbos,
Rabbi Kushi Schusterman