[Verse 1]
When I first came to Baltimore
I saw a need right away

The community was growing
And stretching in new ways

More calls than years before
More people needing care

I thought about solutions
And found somebody already there

So I stepped back from the project
And focused instead elsewhere

Because communities grow stronger
When builders learn to share

[Chorus]
לֹא עָלֶיךָ הַמְּלָאכָה לִגְמֹר¹
(*Lo alekha hamelakhah ligmor* — *It is not your responsibility to finish the work,*)
וְלֹא אַתָּה בֶן חוֹרִין לְהִבָּטֵל מִמֶּנָּה¹
(*Velo attah ben ḥorin lehibatel mimmennah* — *But neither are you free to refrain from it.*)

You don't have to build it all
You don't have to stand alone

Bring the gifts you've been given
And help the future grow

You may not see the ending
You may not see the day

But every hand that joins the work
Helps light another way

[Verse 2]
Years later came a phone call
About a telephone system there

A network serving families
That needed repair and care

So I rolled up my sleeves
And helped where I could do good

Strengthening connections
The way a community should

Then another need emerged
As communications grew

The radios came afterward
And others joined that work too

[Chorus]
לֹא עָלֶיךָ הַמְּלָאכָה לִגְמֹר¹
(*Lo alekha hamelakhah ligmor* — *It is not your responsibility to finish the work,*)
וְלֹא אַתָּה בֶן חוֹרִין לְהִבָּטֵל מִמֶּנָּה¹
(*Velo attah ben ḥorin lehibatel mimmennah* — *But neither are you free to refrain from it.*)

You don't have to build it all
You don't have to stand alone

Bring the gifts you've been given
And help the future grow

You may not see the ending
You may not see the day

But every hand that joins the work
Helps light another way

[Verse 3]
I'd worked EMS before
Just not under Maryland's rules

So I earned the certifications
And learned the local tools

Another place to serve
Another way to care

Joining those already building
And finding purpose there

Some people build with medicine
Some build with lines and wires

Some build through leadership
Some answer urgent fires

[Bridge]
Another call for technology
Another system needing care

Another challenge to strengthen
The things communities share

Not every builder lays foundations
Not every builder leads the way

Sometimes the greatest contribution
Is helping others stay

[Final Chorus]
לֹא עָלֶיךָ הַמְּלָאכָה לִגְמֹר¹
(*Lo alekha hamelakhah ligmor* — *It is not your responsibility to finish the work,*)
וְלֹא אַתָּה בֶן חוֹרִין לְהִבָּטֵל מִמֶּנָּה¹
(*Velo attah ben ḥorin lehibatel mimmennah* — *But neither are you free to refrain from it.*)

Bring the gifts you've been given
Now let the work move through you

Step in, show up, stand ready
Find something you can do

The work is never finished
So answer when you're called

We plant the seeds for tomorrow
Come help us tend them all

[Outro]
One builder becomes many
One effort becomes more

And a community that's hundreds of years old
Keeps growing as before

--------

[Sources]
¹ **Pirkei Avot 2:16**