“Years vanish. Months collapse. Time is like a tall building made of playing cards. It seems orderly until a strong gust of wind comes along and blows the whole thing skyward. Imagine it: an entire deck of cards soaring like a flock of birds.”
"I would argue that nothing gives life more purpose than the realization that every moment of consciousness is a precious and fragile gift."
SHAAAALOOOM SWEEEETEST FRIENDSSSSSS!!!!!!!
The Aseres Yemei Teshuva continue and I CAN'T WAIT till tomorrow b/c we are getting BETTER every day!!!!
This past Shabbos, the world commemorated the 20th anniversary of one of the worst days in recent world history - if not THE worst. September 11th 2001. It is still difficult to digest the magnitude of this tragedy.
I think that there is a lesson here [actually many lessons but we will highlight one]. On Yom Kippur, we know that there is a law that we take a scapegoat "שעיר לעזאזל" and throw it over a cliff [not a guy named Cliff but a high mountain]. What is the meaning of this very strange mitzva? And why is it part of the Avoda of the Kohen Gadol on the Holy Day of Yom Kippur [where we don't watch TV even if it means missing a World Series game! מי כעמך ישראל!!!!]?
I can imagine the following scene: A man is sitting in his office on the 83rd floor on a glorious early fall morning in September. He is looking at the BEAUTIFUL NYC skyline [I
NY!!] and is overcome with ecstasy. He has a comfortable, roomy office, friendly capable co-workers and employees, a seven figure salary, status, respectability, a wonderful, attractive doting wife and three adorable children at home [with a dog of course!! 
]. He has just eaten a delicious breakfast and is enjoying a cup of coffee. The combination of the splendor of nature and his thoughts about how AMAZING life is gives him a narcotic-free high. High on life. And, as I said, on the 83rd floor. REALLY high!!!Next thing he knows BOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!! An airplane comes crashing into the building. All pandemonium breaks loose. There is fire and smoke all over, people are screaming and running in all directions. Minutes later this man [with so many others] is no longer among the living.
Back to Yom Kippur: This goat stands on the top of the mountain. It is a BEAUTIFUL early fall day in Israel. He looks over the skyline and feels GOOD. He has had some DELICIOUS grass for breakfast [he is "high' on grass!!!
] . He doesn't *think* much b/c he is just a goat but on a visceral level he knows that life is AWE-SOME. Then - BBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM, he finds himself falling down a mountain and by the time he gets to the bottom he is no longer among the living!!!!
SAME STORY!!!
THAT is a POWERFUL Yom Kippur message.
The lesson for us: Things might be good for us. We hope that it ONLY gets better!!! We should have BETTER health. MORE nachas from our family and friends, MORE financial $tability etc. etc. But as good as things may be - we can NEVER KNOW when the "party is over" and the lady who needs to diet - sings [if I may paraphrase the great American philosopher Yogi Berra]. It says in Mishlei "כי לא לעולם חוסן". Our power doesn't last forever. Nor does our health or wealth. It is all given for a very limited period of time and we never know when the time is up.
Imagine someone would have predicted two years ago that there would be a worldwide pandemic with all that it has entailed. He would have been branded as a complete Cuckoo!! He would have had "one fly over his nest" [movie reference from the '70's😉]. He could have been one of my Chasidim after I moved to Michigan and crowned myself the "Michigenner Rebbe". A real Michginner!!! Yet, in the strangest way - science fiction turned into science non-fiction!!! Who woulda thunk it??? But - so is life!!! The pandemic rages and we are here wondering "what will be?". Or as someone once said - "I don't know what will be in the meantime but in the end we will all die....."
So what does this mean PRACTICALLY?? That we should live in perpetual ANXIETY??!!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! We must strive to ALWAYS enjoy Menuchas HaNefesh - a state of internal calm! 
Together with CONSTANT joy!!
But at the same time be humble and know that our gifts were given to us for a limited amount of time in order to be used for the benefit of ourselves, those less fortunate and to glorify the Torah and the Name Of Hashem. May we all internalize this message and thereby become better, kinder and deeper people and thereby make the world a better place for His Presence to dwell!!!
LOVE AND BLESSINGS,
Me
