There is a famous passage in the Talmud that I would share with you. It tells that “In the World to Come each of us will be called to account for all the good things God put on earth which we refused to enjoy.” Take it literally, or take it as but a well-intentioned warning, I think there is a lot of wisdom here.

Not that we will be asked “how many hours a day did you labor so that you could provide your loved ones with the supposedly nice things of life, or your children with the finest schools or clothes or Summer experiences?" Not that we will be asked “how many degrees or public honors did you earn, or how many books did you write? And not that we will be asked "how big a house did you build, or what kind of automobile did you drive?"

No, our sages would have us believe that at the end of our days, God will judge as by far more important values than those. It might well be that He will ask of us: “Did you make time each day to hold and to hug the people whom you claim to care most about?” Or perhaps we’ll be asked: “As you felt the years passing, and as you learned more of the unfairness and the sadness that is to be found everywhere, did you grow wise enough to realize that life is too short to be too little?” Too short to fill our days with petty jealousies and resentments. And too short to judge others and ourselves too harshly.

Not that we will be asked: “How many lives did you save?” But "how many lives did you enrich and bless through simple acts (mitzvot) of kindness and caring?"

Whether we take all of this literally or not, the message is life is precious, as are health, love, family, and contentment. And as we are beginning to think of the approach of our High Holy Days, let us affirm through our mouths and our actions that what has been need not be what will be. That we are, each and every one of us, capable of change, and choosing yet unexplored paths that bring us closer to those precious values.

I wish you Shabbat Shalom, a Sabbath of inner peace, and hope that you will join us this evening at 6:30 for our Shabbat Service.

Rabbi David Greenberg