30/05/2023

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rabbi Jonathan Romain

Good morning

Tell me, do you have a motto? Personally, I don’t, but I often think I should, especially as there are so many good ones to choose from. One of the great rabbis of the 1st century was Hillel. He declared, “If I am not for myself, who is for me”? [in other words, I have to stick up for my own rights].

“But if I am only for myself, what am I”? [hmm...yes, being self-obsessed is equally wrong].

“And if not now, when”? [there comes a point when I have to stop theorising and start getting on with it].

A contemporary of his was Shammai, who summed up his teachings as, “Say little, do much, and welcome everyone cheerfully”. I think that is superb, it rolls off the tongue easily and covers a wide range of situations.

Another rabbi, Tarphon said something that has inspired those campaigning for a particular cause they believe in passionately, but often feel overwhelmed by the task ahead. He said, “It is not your duty to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it”.

That’s very encouraging; the goal might take several years to reach, and involve many others, but we can each contribute to it and make it happen eventually.

Still, I like best what Mendel of Kotzk said in the last century, “Take care of your own soul and another person’s body.... but not of your own body and another person’s soul”.

You might think of something better, but what’s good about having a motto is that we are not pious beings who live in a state of perpetual holiness, but we are rooted in the muddy world, and we are often overwhelmed with work or family life.

So it’s good to have a pithy formula to fall back on, and to remind ourselves about what’s important. So I ask God’s help that, whatever our motto is, be it an official one or just a favourite saying, it helps us tackle the various challenges we face.

Amen