A Yom Kippur Message

“Come in,” G-d said.  “So you would like to interview me?”

   “If you have the time,” I said.  G-d smiled and said:

   “My time is eternity and is enough to do everything.  What questions do you have in mind to ask me?”

    “What surprises you most about humankind?”

God answered:  “That they get bored of being children, are in a rush to grow up, and then long to be children again.  That they lose their health to make money and they lose their money to rescue their health.  That they think anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live neither for the present nor the future.  That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they had never lived….”

This fictional conversation, written by an unknown author, contains many truths.  I am sharing it with you on Yom Kippur because today is a day of reflection that should lead us to action. On Yom Kippur we take time to think about our shortcomings and errors and ways we will try to correct them.  It is not a day for self-flagellation or for berating oneself. It is however, a day to resolve to do better the next year.

What might we be thinking about today if we are to address the concerns G-d had about humankind in the story that I just shared with you?  We might start by thinking about the real meaning of wealth.  In our society, wealth is most often defined in terms of what you possess…but we all know individuals who are wealthy not because they have the most but because they need the least.  They have learned to define wealth by what is most valuable in their lives, and that boils down to who they have in their lives.  They are cognizant of the fact that they do not need to compare themselves with others but can feel happy that they have individuals in their lives who love them.  In return, they have learned to offer love and support to their family members and friends. They recognize that their words can heal or hurt, bring life or death.  In the end, they realize that it really won’t matter what kind of car they have driven or how large their house has been.  It will matter if they provided transportation to those who needed a ride or opened their doors to guests.  As one author wrote, “G-d won’t ask what your highest salary was, but will ask if you compromised your character to obtain that salary.  G-d won’t ask how many promotions you received, but will ask you how you promoted others.  G-d won’t ask how many material possessions you had, but will ask if they dictated your life.”

In Pirkei Avot, the Sayings of Our Fathers, the idea of wealth was debated.

 Ben Zoma said:
Who is rich?
The one who appreciates what he has…
(Talmud—Avot 4:1)

Having an attitude of gratitude indeed makes one rich.  It increases your happiness by not focusing on feelings of deprivation, frustration, or anger.  It moves one from feeling entitled to having life’s gifts to feeling appreciative of having life’s gifts.  Judaism actually provides us the tools for expressing our appreciation.  Those tools are called brachot, blessings.  Cultivating the feelings that make us want to say a bracha is part of our individual responsibility. 

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote, “Humankind will not die out for lack of information, but we may perish for want of appreciation.” 

Of course showing gratitude doesn’t have to be a part of formal prayer, but in its great wisdom, the siddur does include several references to being grateful.  One of those prayers is found in the Amidah that is recited 3 times a day, we state, “Let us thank and Praise You, for our lives, which are in your hand, for our souls which are in your care, and for your miracles which we experience every day, and for your wondrous deeds and favors at every time of day: evening, morning, and noon."  Although those words are fixed, it is our job to give them meaning, to personalize them by thinking of the miracles and goodness we experience daily.

Having an attitude of gratitude does not mean life will suddenly cease to be filled with challenges or obstacles that we must face.  It does, however, change the way we assign meaning to those events and how we face our own lives.  If we can learn how to approach life feeling gratitude rather than a sense of entitlement, we will indeed be blessed with a wealth that brings increased joy.  Such an attitude allows us to appreciate the present while we continue to strive to make this world a better place for all.

The challenge is to be able to open our eyes every day and be grateful; to be able to see every breath as a gift from G-d. As we pray that we will be sealed in the book of life for the coming year we need to recognize that the message of Yom Kippur is not only about how we view our own life but what we do when we interact with others.  It is when we show concern, compassion, and caring for others that we are responding to the true message of this day.  Debbie Friedman, zichronah livracha, wrote, “The process of teshuvah is not itself narcicisstic.  The annual call to teshuvah is a reminder that our time in this world is limited and that we must journey honestly, accepting that our gifts are not for us alone….”

I pray that each of us today will discover the light that fills our world and will make the conscious decision to engage in sharing that light with others.  May we all be sealed in the Book of Life as we find purpose and connection while working together.

G’mar Chatimah Tovah.