One, Two, Three … Ten

It's time for a little musar.ⁱ

I try not to be preachy. Even though I know that I'm always right, I try not to sermonize. I try not to guilt the reader into following “the true path.”

Today,ⁱⁱ however, the format changes. Today I'm a sentimental do-gooder. A few days ago I didn't do something that I knew was wrong.ⁱⁱⁱ Instead I did something I should.^iv It wouldn't have made a difference to anyone else but, while avoiding it made things a little more difficult for me, doing “the right thing” made me feel better. My “good angel” won out over the bad.^v

It will help to back up a little. Actually, more than a little. Nearly four millennia. Back to the time of Abraham who, according to the Bible, was the first to formulate the concept of a single G-d. That idea led to the establishment of Judaism, and from that sprang Christianity and Islam. In the first book of the Bible is a description of the “sacrifice”^vi of Isaac by Abraham. G-d “tested”^vii him, but when it became clear that he would carry out the command, an angel was dispatched to stop him. It was the last of ten tests, and Abraham passed them all.

But a better word to depict the situation would be “challenge.” A “test” usually has unknown results and is employed to demonstrate ability, or something else, to a third party – an outside judge. In this instance it seems clear that the point was to demonstrate to Abraham that he would obey G-d's commands. It was a challenge to him. The omniscient G-d knew what the result would be. He didn't need a test to determine that, but Abraham needed to gain the insight. He had to face up to the challenges put to him, and to be aware that he had done so.

And so do we. Whether in school or on the job, in a house of worship with a clergyman or at home with a spouse, or just among friends, we're challenged every day. Often the challenges represent goals set for us by others, sometimes they're just tests. I don't mean to minimize the significance of the expectations of others – often goals that they'd like to see us fail – but sometimes they're valid challenges. More important, though, are those we put to ourselves.

Perhaps we make resolutions each year that we're quick to violate – usually without much thought. All that's likely to cross our minds is that the resolution itself was dumb, ill-conceived. We should never have made it. It's impossible to keep and not really worth the effort. We lack discipline. We cannot achieve the important, but daunting, goals we set for ourselves. We aim high, but that may be the problem. It's easier to lower our expectations.

None of us is Abraham. Not even close. We'd never be able to confront the challenges imposed on him, but we don't have to. The ones that we can set for ourselves, our personal challenges, however, are difficult enough. They don't seem very exciting. And they sound like Sunday School lessons, but there's no minimizing either their difficulty or their importance. And even if they seem self-evident – things that everyone does – the chances are good that they don't do them, and neither do you.

Sometimes they're difficult, but often they're easy. Do you see a piece of paper on the floor? Pick it up. You don't have to tell anyone that you did it.^viii You know, and that should be enough. Or perhaps a closet door is open or a light has been left on in a room that's now unoccupied. Dealing with both those situations, and many more like them, is easy enough and helpful to someone. You may not know who, and that's not really important. You know that it is. When my children were growing up I made a list for them. It was a list of jobs that had to be done before Shabbat.^ix There were many specific jobs enumerated, but at the end of the list was one that was a little more free-form: “Whatever isn't on the list but you know deep down has to be done.” They had to identify the problem and solve it.

Some of the things that ought^x to be done provide a little more of a challenge. The temptation to cross the street against the light when there is no traffic is great. And you may feel like a fool for not doing so, especially since the purpose of any such law is to guarantee your safety and you know that it's safe. However the law is the law.^xi It's more difficult to make a full stop when you see the sign, to stay within the speed limit, and to remember to signal every time you change lanes or turn, but that's the law too. No matter how careful you are, breaking the law is, in its way, an act of anarchy.

Perhaps the biggest challenges, however, are when it comes to money. Not just in business, but even when you're filing your income tax.^xii And they're also there when you get too much change when making a purchase. You may discover it after you've left the store, but returning and repaying the cashier who made the mistake will help that person to keep the books straight and to keep his job. You may feel dumb, but you'll have accomplished a lot.

And a smile. I know that sounds stupid too, but it doesn't take all that much effort to cheer up those around you, and that will cheer you up too. The way you relate to those people is probably the best benchmark for proper behavior. That means no gossip – a very difficult challenge. It also means that you don't trade insults with others, or even answer back to their comments when they say something dumb – especially when it relates to politics or religion. Remember that you won't convince them and they won't convince you.^xiii All they can do is cause ulcers and enmity.

Sanctimonious? Holier-than-thou? Yeah, I know. Preachy?^xiv Sorry I subjected you to it, but I feel better now. I got it out of my system.^xv It won't happen again. I'm cleansed. I know some of the challenges I have to meet. Perhaps I'll even be successful some of the time.

How about you?

Next episode: “What To Do When The Envelope Pushes Back” – Not that anyone cares.

I        Ethical teaching. The word appears in Proverbs, 1:2, and is translated as “discipline” in “The Stone Edition Tanach” published by Artscroll/Mesorah, Brooklyn, 1996. Google^® it for more information.

ii        December 9, 2014

iii      What it was is really irrelevant.

iv       “Should,” itself, is a preachy word, but it conveys the sense I intend.

v        In the Jewish tradition, the terms are “good inclination” and “evil inclination” – yetzer hatov and yetzer harah. Freud would know them as superego and id (sort of). Nowadays we talk about “executive functions” in the frontal lobes.

vi       “Tested” is probably not the best word that could be used, but it is the translation generally encountered.

vii      Genesis, 22:1. According to Jewish tradition the Akeidah was the last of ten tests of faith

viii     As a matter of fact, acts like that have a greater significance when you keep them to yourself.

ix       The Jewish sabbath.

x        Another judgmental word.

xi      There's a basic precept (which is often ignored, but that's for another time) in Judaism that “the law of the land is the [religious] law.” While the situation may become somewhat more complicated when there is a conflict between secular and religious law, in most cases no such conflict exists, and we are obliged to follow the local and national regulations.

xii      Or when you're paying cash in order to avoid tax.

xiii    And whatever you do, never back anyone into a corner. All that “gotchas” produce is enemies.

xiv      Actually, preachy is in the ear of the beholder.

xv       Now I can be a curmudgeon again.