Eastern Phoebe : Hineini!

This is an Eastern Phoebe. Like many birds, it has multiple calls. Especially for beginners, learning those calls is a key way to identify a bird. The Phoebe is especially accommodating: one of its calls is Fee-Bee, Fee-Bee, over and over. They frequently sit up on a prominent perch and proudly announce their name. That consistent clarity says precisely who it is.

In our tradition, a single word can be chockablock with meaning. HaShem calls out to Abraham, to ask him to sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham’s single-word response is “Hineini,” translated literally as “here I am.” More insightfully, that single word carries vast meanings within it. I believe. I obey. I trust. I will continue. I am my name. All of the depth and richness - and terror and horror - of the Binding of Isaac live and struggle within that single word. Hineini is an invitation to look into one’s essential being and wrap it in a name.

We have daily opportunities to show what constitutes our name, to declare “Hineini.” Our presence today, our “here-ness,” for our families and our communities, is just as meaningful as Abraham’s. Each action we take can demonstrate faith and that a good name built over a lifetime is “to be chosen rather than great riches.” The Phoebe’s call can be both reminder and inspiration to similarly announce our presence, to say, “Here I am!”