18 Iyar 5783 – 9 May 2023
לִמְנ֣וֹת יָ֭מֵינוּ כֵּ֣ן הוֹדַ֑ע וְ֝נָבִ֗א לְבַ֣ב חׇכְמָֽה׃
Teach us how to count and appreciate the short number of our days, and this will bring us to have a wise heart and use them fully.[1]
Before Noah’s Great Flood, people lived much longer than today. This also allowed them to acquire much more knowledge than we do in our days. Our days are 70, as the Psalm indicated in the previous verse, but also refers to in this verse by the hebrew word כֵּ֣ן which has the gematria value of 70. (20+50).
We ask G-d if He would teach us, make us see how short our days are. Because when we are young and in the prime of our lives, we cannot imagine that our lives are finite. The temptation is great to get caught up in all the material temptations of this world, the spiritual can wait, thinking “we’ll do that tomorrow.” However when we realize that our life is “only” 70 years and we only have this time to become wise, to learn Torah, then we begin to allocate our time differently and see the value of the spiritual more.
What is the value of this wisdom? First of all, the Torah teaches us, among other things, through the mitzvot, how to serve G-d here, during this life. It will enrich our lives and it makes society a good habitable place for everyone. In the second instance, this knowledge and the good deed we did are the only things we can take with us when we die.
May we all receive the wisdom to use our time wisely.
By Angelique Sijbolts
Sources: That Tehillim App
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