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Shabbat Parashat Tetzaveh, Zachor, Adar 12 5770 Feb 26, 2010
Shalom,
Like many of you, I spent many hours in front of the television this past week, watching the grandeur of the Winter Olympic Games from Vancouver, Canada. Living in Israel, especially during this week of winter, with the average temperature of about 90 degrees, watching the sports played on snow and ice can actually be refreshing. It also reminds me about one of things that I learned to enjoy greatly in the United States; skiing. I became a great fan of the sport, which is virtually impossible to do most of the time, in most of Israel. Besides watching the games, Tehilah and I developed a new pastime; trying to pronounce the long, multi syllabic, complicated, tongue-twister names of the athletes from all corners of the globe. I wondered about the motivation of these amazing athletes, working so diligently to achieve goals that are hard to imagine, both physically as well as mentally. Why do they sacrifice so much? Is it for the few moments of an inspiring ceremony? Is if for another gold medal? Perhaps it is for the applause and adulation of the crowd. How much does it take and what does it mean to be the best? To be number one? The ones who do reach this level of achievement are not only blessed with physical stamina, but also with a certain mental capacity. They are extremely determined, committed and stubborn individuals who never give up and have patience and vision. Many times I have watched interviews with great sportsmen and women, and I was shocked how one dimensional their personalities are. Perhaps, there is no other option if you endeavor to be the best in the world. Perhaps being the world's best requires giving up on everything else. It is very common among these individuals to postpone other interests, including personal relationships, until they retire from their individual sports. . I think many of us, in our younger days, naively dream of being number one in our respective fields. Later on, as the struggle intensifies, we lower expectations for ourselves, or even abandon such ambition....why? What happened? Obviously, the more we gain knowledge and experience, the more acutely we realize how difficult that effort to surpass all others can be. We might also reach an understanding that even if we really want to, we are not going to achieve that goal due to physical or other constraints. But what about those instances where we just give up with no obvious reason? Is it lack of motivation? I think it is about the cost of the effort to surpass all others. We realize the price is too high. Somewhere along the way we realize life is not ALL about that one thing and therefore the price required is too high. We will have to give up other things, things that are also important to us.
I remember my own ambitions at the beginning of my career. It's not that I have abandoned my will to be the worlds best, it's just that later I understood that other aspects of my profession and my life are no less important than the vocal one.
Are we really upset for not reaching our goal to be number one? I don't think so. I think that most of us, even though there is always something to improve, are quite satisfied in with our lives. One of the reasons is that we realized we do not really want to be number one. Being the best I can in the various aspects of life, is good enough for me. Instead of being the best in whatever particular activity or endeavor you choose, you can fill in the blank, I believe that most of us have made a concerted effort and a firm decision, even if we have not verbalized it, to be the best spouses or parents or Jews that we can be. It is all about the priorities!
This week we read parashat Zachor where we are commanded to constantly remember what Amalek did to our ancestors when they came out of Egypt. We learn that we must remember the past, and yet never forget what is really important in the future. Many commentators claim that in today's reality, Amalek is our own Yetzer Hara, our evil inclination, and and therefore we must constantly fight it.
Striving to be the best could be both productive as well as destructive. Motivation, vision and persistence are good qualities and they cause us to forge ahead. Moving ahead though, while focusing only on one aspect of life, at least in my book, is not taking full advantage of what the world has to offer us. We must remember that while we strive to be the best we have to constantly reevaluate our paths and choices and ask ourselves if they are the right for us now. It is all about the priorities! As much as any individual personal goal, our relationships with each other, with family and friends, and with God, must be at least as important as the personal fleeting satisfaction at winning something tangible. Incorrect priorities could lead to disastrous consequences.
May we always measure the price of our goals and may we agree tomorrow with today's decisions.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Purim from Jerusalem,
Cantor Arik Wollheim
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