As we approach Rosh Hashana, we take a step back to scrutinize and assess every aspect of our life, including practices and behaviors.
A Rabbi painstakingly prepared the sermon for Rosh Hashana over the course of three months proceeding the High Holidays. All of the diligence and hard work paid off, however, because after the service one the congregants came forward and congratulated the rabbi on the fine speech.
He said, “Rabbi you gave an amazing speech. By the way, I am one of the producers for 60 minutes and your talk would make a perfect news story.” He continued, “The catch is you would have to condense it to 15 minutes. Do you think you could do that?”
Immediately the Rabbi responded, “No way José!” The producer reminded him that 60 minutes draws a large and diverse audience and the Rabbi knew he was right. It was a great opportunity. It would be his 15 minutes of fame to quote Andy Warhol. He continued to consider the possibility and scheme in his mind how he could cut the message back. For at least an hour the two of them went back and forth discussing the options. Finally the Rabbi said, “I think I can pull it off in 15 minutes.” To this, the producer responded, “Terrific! So tell me Rabbi, if you could pull it off in 15 minutes, why did you have to waste an hour of our time?”
Recently, I began driving a hybrid car and it struck me that I had wasted years and gallons of gasoline, before I figured it out. Why hadn’t I taken the plunge sooner? If you think about it, hybrid vehicles use two or more power sources for propulsion, combining a combustion engine with an electric motor, and energy, which would otherwise be lost to heat during braking, is recycled as electrical power. Pretty nifty! This amazing technology allows us to be more efficient with our resources.
This got me thinking, especially with the "" approach what are the lessons that can be learned here? How could I be more efficient in all aspects of my life?
The timing couldn’t be more perfect. As we approach Rosh Hashana, we take a step back to scrutinize and assess every aspect of our life, including practices and behaviors. As we focus on the many blessings we have been given, including the benefits that technological advances afford us, we can adopt the idea of increasing productivity, orderliness and effectiveness and conserving energy, in all aspects of our lives.
The list of possibilities is fathomless. Now is the time to reassess ourselves, after all this is what Rosh Hashana, is all about!
You are welcome to join us at Chabad to hear the sound of the shofar. For more information regarding the High Holidays please visit us at www.jewishmalibu.com. May you and yours be blessed with a year of health, wealth and true contentment.