16 Tammuz 5783 – 5 July 2023
Take heart and be strong! This world is utter vanity, and nothing remains of a person except the Torah, prayer and good deeds he has accumulated, While everyone knows this, still this is the absolute, clear, pure and undeniable truth, which each of us must remember every day.[1]
Or in the words of King Solomon[2]
Vanity of vanities, saith Koheleth;
Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
What profit hath man of all his labour
Wherein he laboureth under the sun?
One generation passeth away,
and another generation cometh;
And the earth abideth for ever.
Still, it is good to think about it at times. What if tomorrow is the last day, what would you like to do today. Most of us will then want to spend time with loved ones, perhaps bury old battle axes, perhaps distribute stuff you have, write down any advice or leave wise words for those left behind, etc. It will also be a day when you are – hopefully – intensely aware of the beauty of creation. The blue sky, the green grass, the bird singing in the tree. It will be a day when you turn to G-d for strength for help with a difficult transition, which most will still have a certain fear of. It will make you pray and it will hopefully prompt you to give thanks for all you have been privileged to receive in your life. How rich such a last day can be.
What if you live every day as if it were your last day, how rich will your life really be at the end of your life?
You will be more aware of G-d, more aware of His creation, more aware of your tasks that you have been given by Him to perform. It will make your prayer more intense; it will make your Torah study more intense it will strengthen your good qualities.
May today be a day, lived in all its intensity and beauty. A day where worries are for tomorrow, a day in full proximity to loved ones and to G-d. It will be a day in which you will also have to do your usual daily work, but may it be in the intensity that you work in joy for Him, who gave you that task of work.
By Angelique Sijbolts
Sources:
[1] Healing Leaves letter #211 From the letters of Reb Noson of Breslov
[2] Ecclesiastes 1:2-4
