{"id":49318,"date":"2019-05-24T15:55:57","date_gmt":"2019-05-24T21:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=49318"},"modified":"2019-05-24T15:56:34","modified_gmt":"2019-05-24T21:56:34","slug":"off-the-pulpit-not-good-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/off-the-pulpit-not-good-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"Off the Pulpit: Not Good Enough?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By RABBI DAVID WOLPE<\/p>\n

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None of these great figures is falsely modest. Rather they are honest and deeply insightful. Each knows what it means to take on the burden of leadership and recognizes that they cannot do it lightly or thoughtlessly. They feel unequal to the responsibility of carrying God\u2019s word in an often hostile world and to a constantly backsliding people.<\/p>\n

Abraham Lincoln declared in 1859 that he did not \u201cthink himself fit for the Presidency\u201d and in a letter that same year wrote he was not \u201ca man of great learning, or a very extraordinary one in any respect.\u201d In a world that promotes self-esteem and discourages self-doubt, such attitudes may seem foreign to us. Yet surrounded by people convinced they are good, do we not yearn for one of outstanding merit who believes that he is not good enough?<\/p>\n

(Rabbi David Wolpe is the Senior Rabbi of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles.)<\/em><\/p>\n

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