Parshas Nitzavim (5778) Rosh Hashanah Edition
There are times in a person’s life when he is afforded the opportunity to gain a whole new perspective and way of looking at himself and the world around him.
Sometimes it’s the death of a close relative. Or maybe it’s one’s own brush with death or some other major event that, if he thinks about it properly and carefully, can offer him a fresh perspective on what is truly important in life.
Everyone knows the saying: “There’s no atheist in a foxholeâ€. When the bullets are flying, and the bombs are exploding all around, and one sees that the end of his physical life is near, his perspective changes drastically.
But it doesn’t have to be in a foxhole. Sometimes the lesson about what’s truly important can come from the funniest of places … as in the following true story:
Akiva Goldstein, a cute, precocious 5-year-old boy from an observant Jewish family, was playing in the back of his house one day when he accidentally fell off the porch and landed on his head. He was rushed to the nearby Hospital for Sick Kids where doctors ran a series of tests, and found no problems with his brain, so after a few days of observing him, he was allowed to return home.
Around a year later, Akiva blacked out while playing ball with his friends, and was again rushed to the hospital to make sure that he didn’t have any residual brain damage from the last year’s fall. After a few days of tests, Akiva was given a clean bill of health and was told he could go home.
One of the nurses suggested to Akiva that before leaving the hospital, he should go see the famous soccer star David Beckham, who was then downstairs in the hospital lobby visiting sick kids. Now Akiva had never before heard of David Beckham, and shaking his hand didn’t interest him in the slightest, but still he agreed to say hello to this man whom everyone called a “starâ€.
After waiting on line for quite some time, it was finally the young boy’s turn to meet the famous footballer. To everyone’s shock (or surprise), Akiva looked him straight in the face and asked: “Are you a ‘Tzaddik’ (saintly person)?†Beckham was confused - not knowing what the word Tzaddik meant - and after an awkward silence, he responded: “I don’t knowâ€. And then Akiva asked Beckham another question: “Are you a ‘Talmid Chacham’ (Torah Scholar)?†To which Beckham responded: “I guess not.â€
Now it was Akiva’s turn to be confused. He couldn’t understand why everyone was making such a big fuss over this man and waiting on long lines to get his autograph if he wasn’t even a Talmid Chacham or a Tzaddik! So Akiva asked the soccer star: “So what are you famous for?†Beckham replied, with some humility: “Well, they say I can kick around a soccer ball real wellâ€. Little Akiva then said: “So can Iâ€. Beckham laughed and asked Akiva: “And what are you famous for?†Said Akiva: “For falling off my porch!â€
In this cute story we are afforded a whole new perspective on professional sports and its ‘stars’ – as seen through the eyes of a precocious, six-year-old child - especially when compared to true stars such as Tzaddikim, Torah Scholars and other saintly individuals who spend their lives teaching and reaching out to others. [Of course, this is not to take anything away from David Beckham, who is known to regularly visits children in hospitals, which is definitely a ‘saintly’ thing to do.]
Putting life into proper perspective is really what Rosh Hashanah is all about. When we recite the powerful U’nesaneh Tokef prayer during Mussaf in which we chant “Who shall live and who shall dieâ€, it is meant to jolt us back into reality and to remind us to think and rethink what is truly important in life – like being good and ‘saintly’ to others, among other things – and what is just kicking the ball around real well.
This Rosh Hashanah, we need to ask ourselves some serious questions regarding our own perspective in life:
Are we spending enough time with our family, or are we away at work for way too many hours? Do we give enough charity, or are we keeping way too much of our money for ourselves? Are we spending any time thinking about what it means to us to be Jewish, or do we just take it for granted and hope that it doesn’t get in our way too much? etc. etc.
May we all merit this Rosh Hashanah to gain a proper perspective in life and may we all be inscribed in the Book of Life and have a sweet new year.
SHANAH TOVAH U’MESUKAH!
http://www.torchweb.org/torah_detail.php?id=530