Good morning, or good afternoon, or good evening.
What kind of day are you having?
Are you tired, alert, cynical, full of joy or just “meh?”
Are you convinced the world is out to get you, or are you filled with optimism?
It’s an interesting question we face each day. Some are convinced the world is out to get them. There are others who contend that the world exists with exciting possibilities.
Which one is correct?
Have you ever had a day begin with stepping on a piece of your child’s Lego, staggering into the restroom and finding that no one has changed the roll—and soon after, realize you’re out of coffee?
And your day continues to deteriorate from there.
But there are other days when your child says, “Thank you, mom or dad, for everything you do for me.”
When you hit every green light on the way to work, your favorite lunch is the special at the diner, and you are universally embraced throughout the day by supportive and encouraging co-workers.
In reality, we rarely experience either of the two. The true challenge remains—as many experts note: What kind of day will we make it?
Perhaps that is why so many religions offer communal morning services or develop a formal prayer structure that enables us to focus our kavanah—our “intention”—as we begin our day.
What kind of day will we chose?
Bob Proctor, author of You Were Born Rich, notes that, “There is no problem outside of you that is superior to the power within you.”
One of my teachers, Rabbi Shais Taub, offered a more direct comment: “You are the only problem you will face today.”
Indeed, each of us encounters countless challenges every day. Jewish tradition contends that without these challenges, our lives would have no meaning.
Or, as the great Sage, the Vilna Gaon (1720-1797), posited, the purpose of life is to, “Make ourselves into something better.”
This week’s Torah portion begins with a quote inspiring us to choose between these two options. It reads: “See, this day, I set before you blessing and curse.” (Deuteronomy 11:26) It punctuates the fact that each day we face choices on how to perceive our lives.
Admittedly, situational challenges that we cannot control occur each day—finances, work, relationships, health.
And then there are those never-ending existential questions.
Is the world getting better or worse?
Is there really something positive to be found within every human being?
Should I push back at others before they push against me?
Is there anything I can really do to make this a better world?
In its commentary on the “blessing and curse” clause that opens this week’s Torah portion, the Etz Chaim Chumash says that how we approach each day is profoundly linked to values:
“At our best, we are greater than the angels who do not have to overcome temptation and apathy. At our worst, we are less than beasts. Their destructiveness is part of their nature…”
A little extreme perhaps, but not irrelevant. Those who focus each day on kindness, care, compassion and empathy will ultimately focus on blessings. Those who live isolated and cynical lives often view the world as hollow and threatening.
Rabbi Harold Kushner, author Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?, wrote that our connection to God and Judaism can play a large part.
When he writes about God, he is not referring to a bearded man sitting in a celestial chair constantly judging us.
“God is not one who holds us over the pit of hell who says ‘repeat, confess and repent now or else.’ God understands that we are imperfect…”
So, while it is natural to become frustrated with the world around us, the Torah contends that we do have a choice.
Is life a blessing or a curse? Modern culture consistently overuses the phrase, “a little of both.”
But the great Sage, Ovadia ben Jacob Sforno (1475-1549), noted in matters of God, values and ethics, “You are not to follow the middle path.”
Rather, in Moses’ words, we “choose life.”
The world surrounding us is becoming increasingly materialistic. We are no longer referred to as a citizens, but rather consumers. We live almost constantly within a virtual universe.
More than ever, we face a choices.
Will we allow ourselves to be defined by demographics, or will we approach each other as individuals based upon the Jewish foundation of patience, kindness, compassion and understanding?
The Torah articulates that choice at the beginning of this week’s parashah.
What will we write in our ”Book of Today?” Will it be a blessing or a curse? Will we be the authors of our own pessimism, or will we embrace life’s possibilities and miracles.
Our Sages are clear on the subject.
When it comes to our choices every day, we choose blessing.
And in so doing, we chose life.
Shabbat shalom, v’kol tuv.
Rabbi Irwin Huberman