“This is one of those moments when I wish I could be young forever. Not just stop time for a second, but for an eternity.
The old paradox that youth is wasted on the young is not true for us. Neither I nor my friends take our youth for granted.
In fact, all of the young people I know are all too aware that someday soon time and gravity won’t be on their side anymore.
And there’s nothing we can do about it. So the young do the only thing they can do. They live and they love and they dance and they sing, they dream and they scheme, they ponder and they plan.
Like there’s no tomorrow. For tomorrow brings us one day closer to the inevitable and one day further from the impossible.
And being young is all about achieving the impossible. Or at least believing you can. The old mistake our denial for ignorance, our immaturity for irresponsibility.
We understand the rules of life, we just don’t want to play by them.
Not yet.
Not today.
Not tonight.
Because tonight is a good night to be young and alive.”
― A.J. Compton, The Counting-Downers
SHAAAAAAALOMMMMMMMMMMM SWEEEETEST FRIENDS!!!!!!!
We are getting closer to the BIIIIIIG day!!! Andy Cuomo granted some people clemency before he left office in order to look for his TRUE Bashert and now we turn to [lihavdil a TRILLLLION havdalos] the Ribbono Shel Olam to ask him for clemency, mercy, blessings, atonement - and season tickets to the opera would be great as well [if you enjoy hearing hysterical women shriek in Italian and fat men who are wanna-be Chazzonim trying to calm them down].
What is our JOB ["Avoda" in Jewish, Avoiiiiida in Yeshivish]?
Simple: WAKE UP!!! To start being aware and mindful of where we have faltered and where our Jewish life has gotten stale like last Shabbos'es challah.
Rosh Hashana - We blow the Shofar which wakes us up from our spiritual slumber [Rambam]. ישן means to sleep. ישן means old. When we do things sleepily it is b/c they got old. תקעו בחדש שופר - Chazal say חדשו מעשיכם, make your deeds NEW. On Rosh Hashana we are not supposed to sleep during the day [at least until noon]. A time of reawakening. On Rosh Hashana, the anniversary of the creation of the world, we herald the beginning of a NEW WORLD ORDER!!!
Yom Kippur - The day of purity. כִּי בַיּוֹם הַזֶּה יְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיכֶם לְטַהֵר אֶתְכֶם מִכֹּל חַטֹּאתֵיכֶם לִפְנֵי יְהוָה תִּטְהָרוּ. The pasuk says about purity that it brings to renewal. לב טהור ברא לי א-להים ורוח נכון חדש בקרבי. On Yom Kippur we stop being old. אל תשליכני לעת זקנה - Don't cast me away when I get old. Let me remain YOUNG!! The Kohen Gadol who represents all of the Jewish people stays awake the entire Yom Kippur - 25 hours!!
Succos - We sit in a TEMPORARY dwelling. Temporary situations by definition don't get old. Chazal tell us that throughout Succos they had Simchas Beis Hashoevas and people didn't sleep.
Tishrei is a time to renew our religious spirit. Not to allow the ravages of spiritual staleness affect us. Not to let ourselves get old. [Based in part on the sefer באור פניך]
We read at this time of year the Parshiyos of the end of Moshe's life. 120 years old and physically and spiritually like a youngster. לא כהתה עינו ולא נס ליחו - His eyes were undimmed and his vigor unabated.
When Dovid Ben Gurion retired to Sdei Boker, he took along with him a book of Rebbe Nachman. He was asked what an
] wants with a book of Rebbe Nachman. Like - can you imagine Ben Gurion in Uman with all the chevre?? He answered that he is bringing the book for one line - אסור להיות זקן. One must never get old. SWEETEST FRIENDS - THIS IS THE TIME TO AWAKEN. RENEW. REINVIGORATE. ReJEWvenate!!!!
To steal a line from Hillel: "If not now - maybe next Thursday". NO!! If not now then WHEN. The BEST time is NOW!!!
How does the Navi [Hoshea 11-1] say it in the name of the Lord? כי נער ישראל ואוהבהו - The Jewish people remain young like a lad and for that I LOVE them.
A DELIGHTFUL DAY!!!
