Jewish Stories #5 - Two Pockets Full - March 2016

A few weeks ago, Rabbi Jonathan Spira-Savett from New Hampshire stole my Temple Topics article in a question to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (http://forward.com/news/332949/meet-the-rabbi-who-asked-hillary-clinton-a-question-and-got-whole-nation-th/).  Over this year, my plan has been to feature certain non-Biblical stories that should be a part of every Jew’s knowledge.  I guess, since this rabbi chose the same story, and that the Secretary was so moved, shows that this story, short though it is, definitely should be on this list.

The story itself is not so long.  It’s not even really a story.  It is told that Rabbi Simcha Bunim said that everyone should keep two pieces of paper - one in each pocket.  The first should feature the quote - “I am but dust and ashes.”  The second should read, “The world was created for my sake.”  The trick of the two slips of paper is in the timing.  When one is feeling full of one’s self, and somewhat self-impressed, that is the time to read the first piece of paper.  The one that says, no matter how important we think we are at the moment, we are made of the same stuff as everything else on the earth.  We are not immortal and even we will die.  On the other hand - or in the other pocket - is the saying to be read when we feel all too keenly the impossibilities of life, and the fleeting of time.  Then, we are at our lowest, we should remember that we are the result of a long series of creations; that no one else just like us has or will ever exist again.

The moral, of course, is that we should seek to find balance in life.  Without humility, we run roughshod over others.  We forget that we are not the only people who have feelings.  Without ego and ambition, we lack the spark to create and innovate - to move forward.  The idea is not unique to Judaism.  History tells us that when a Roman emperor would proceed in triumph - with all of the civilized world praising him, a slave was assigned to whisper in Caesar’s ear that he too was mortal.

Mortality, of course, is both a curse and a goad.  Each of us may remember the time when we realized that we could not do everything that we wanted in our lifetime - read every book, travel to every place, meet everyone, accomplish everything.  Perhaps that caused a moment of depression.  However, the realization that our time is limited is also an inspiration to act now, and do what we can, while we can.  The Talmud, too, says to live every day as if it were your last - because we fear regret so much, that we want to make sure we get things done.

“You are but dust and ashes.”  In all our strivings, we are still limited in what we can achieve.  Yet, the strength is that we know that so are all those around us.  What we can achieve can also be appreciated by others, who are also limited.  Just as those who came before did not despair, and built the world we live in - “The world was created for your sake.”  We can rejoice in the world that we live in, as long as we remember our job is to continue that creation for those who come next.  The world was also created for their sake.  Our job is to remember that - and get about creating it.