Rabbi Howard Morrison

One of the most poignant messages of the entire Torah appears near the end of Nitzavim:

"I (God) call heaven and earth to witness against you this day: I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse, Choose life so that you and your offspring will live - by loving the Lord your God, heeding His commandments and holding fast to Him."

From the moment that God created humanity to the day that Moses will die, God endowed humanity with freedom of choice. God invokes permanent witnesses to testify that God has placed choices before us. We are free to choose. However, in the world of free choice, God is not objective. God puts the possibilities of life and death before us but then says CHOOSE LIFE! God also tells us the kind of life we should pursue, by loving God, being attentive to the Mitzvot, and clinging to God.

The Torah teaches us that life without purpose makes plain living incomplete. How many people upon retirement do not have a retirement plan in order to stay productive, fulfilled, and to find meaning and purpose in life? How many of those people sadly rot away without finding a rationale for living?

How many people, even before retirement, are living, but without a purposeful rationale to accompany their living? What will be of the sanctity and quality of their lives?

How many people live to eat, as opposed to "eat to live?"

With the High Holy Days right around the corner, now is the time to ask ourselves the deeper questions. What is it that we want to do with the life that we have chosen? In what ways will we choose to become closer to God, Torah, and Israel in the coming year? Will purpose and meaning come by finding those values in the jobs we perform to put food on the table and to keep a roof over our heads? Or, will purpose and meaning come by finding those values in voluntary pursuits outside our official forms of employment?

My recommendation - Judaism is not an all or nothing religion. Every Mitzvah, everything we do counts and has value. Take a look at the 613 Mitzvah menu that Judaism has to offer. Find at least one Mitzvah you have not done well or at all in the past year. Find a Mitzvah that you feel has the potential to raise you to new heights, to make you feel closer to God, our heritage, and to the Jewish people. You will not regret your free choice. 

Eleswhere in the Parsha, we learn that no Mitzvah is too far from us. It is not in heaven. It is right near to us. With or without rabbinic ot cantorial assistance, now is an ideal time of year to bring a Mitzvah closer to you and for your fulfillment of Judaism in the coming year.

Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova,

Rabbi Howard Morrison