לחיים

During this Sephira period I am inclined to think of life's value and how we appreciate our priorities in life. As I count Sephira on a daily basis I realize more and more that the directive וספרתם לכם "Count the days for yourself", suggests that we not worry so much about where we are going or what our final goal may be, but rather to count each day, and to make each day count. In doing so, our days will be תמימות, will be whole and complete.

    Life is to use each  blessed moment to the best of our ability and to infuse each day in a way that has meaning and makes a difference in our world.

If we do so, then eventually we will find ourselves standing at Mount Sinai, and will feel that we are standing in the presence  of G-D.

    This Shabbat we will conclude Sefer Vayikrah and read Parshat  בחוקותי, which begins with , אם בחוקותי תלכו  "IF you will walk in my Statutes".The word אם, the word "IF"always fascinates me , because IF is a little hinge on which the door of destiny swings. The very word LIFE , has a big "IF" in the middle, suggesting that within life we always have the idea "IF".

    What iF I had chosen a different profession, what IF I had married a different person. IF always seems to crop up in all aspects of our life.

     I recall the poem by Robert  Frost ״The Road Not Taken", wherein he describes walking through the forest and he comes upon a fork with two paths branched out. The poem describes how he chose one path  and always wondered what would have been if he had chosen the other path. Frost concludes , that the path he chose was the correct one and it made all the difference in his life.

     I sense, that despite all the uncertainties in life, we have to accept life as it is and live the best way we know and not go through life with the "IF" on our minds , always second guessing , "What if ...."

     That is what our Torah is teaching us, אם בחוקותי - we can turn our IFs into a positive note, by walking and fulfilling the Mitzvot of our Torah.

    A scholar once said "Judaism is not Optimistic , nor Pessimistic", but is 

"IFistic". It tells us we can make our lives more meaningful and more rewarding 

"IF" we will fulfill all the conditions that are recorded in our Torah and live by the word of G-D.

    It is worth noting that the Hebrew word for life is, also, a four letter word.  It is חיים. But unlike its English counterpart, which has IF in the middle of it, the Hebrew word for life has Two Yuds in the middle.  And "Two Yuds" as we know, spell the name of Hashem.

    IF we put Hashem in the vital center of our lives, we can meet any contingency without being defeated or overwhelmed. We can then live with the certainty that LIFE  has meaning, purpose and unlimited possibilities for fulfillment.

   With this in mind, I salute Yeshiva University's Tennis Team who won the Skyline Conference Division Title.  The first time that the University has qualified for an NCAA Tournament and they do not even have a tennis court of their own.  But with the Maccabees victory came a dilemma.  Thank G-d all Yeshiva players are all Orthodox Jews who observe the Shabbat which means they cannot compete in the Saturday matches.  Yeshiva notified the NCAA and to it's credit the league came up with a schedule that will not require the Yeshiva Team to violate the Shabbat.  I salute Yeshiva for their decision which did not involve any IFs or BUTs but rather they stood on our religious principals and  in doing so our Torah way of life won out and a great Kiddush Hashem was achieved.

    Indeed, if we live by our principals, our lives will be חיים for ourselves and for K'lal Yisroel and we will march together to Mt. Sinai, כאיש אחד בלב אחד.