What are our responsibilities as Jews?

The Parasha gives us the answer and the Haftarah explains its fulfillment. God calls upon each of us at Sinai to be part  of a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Exodus: 19:6. God tells Isaiah to speak to the People about God's word continuously and without end. Isaiah 6:11. In the Parasha we are given the message for the world. It is the Torah revealed at Sinai, symbolized most specifically by the Aseret Hadibrot (the 10 Utterances or Commandments.) Exodus 20:1-14. In the Haftarah it is the Shema-"Shemu. Shamoah...," Isaiah 6:9, that incorporates the  Mitzvoth of the Torah.

As a holy nation, each of us is to be an Isaiah, acting as a prophet does in bringing a message to our co-religionists.  To help us, our Sages incorporated famous words from this week's Haftarah into our daily liturgy, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts. God's presence fills all the Earth!"  Isaiah 6:11. Daily, we reenact the chorus of heavenly  beings speaking of God's greatness. But how can we impart that message and do so with the perseverance and fortitude of an Isaiah and how can we do so publicly and loudly?

Nobody ever said it would be easy. However, the fact that you are reading this drash says you care and that being Jewish is important to you. Moses questioned his skills and abilities and so does Isaiah in exactly the same way. Isaiah 6:5. So, if you are asking, you are in very good company. Hopefully, you feel pride, derive pleasure, and experience satisfaction and fulfillment from your personal  relationship with God and your religious life. Perhaps you feel a sense of belonging.  Wouldn't you love for all Jews to feel the way you do? Do you happen to  know any Jews who don't feel that way or don't feel it as strongly as you?

The task of being a messenger may be a difficult one. The beauty of Judaism is that our faith does not require the completion of a task or mitzvah. Success is in making the actual physical effort toward an outcome. God tells Isaiah that the people may not listen or understand. Isaiah 6:8.  How frustrating that must have seemed to Isaiah and how frustrating that may seem to us as we reach out to others to experience the joys of Judaism and love of God that we feel and experience. Recent demographic studies tell us that the time for effort, innovation and creativity is perhaps more important now than ever.