By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal
SAN DIEGO –A person worked long and hard to save a big fortune. He decided to rest from the work and to live in luxury for his pleasure, which he could afford because of his wealth.
Just when he made his decision, the Angel of Death came to him.
Being a very good sales person, he decided to buy some more time from the Angel of Death at any cost. He bargained for a long time but the angel was unmoved.
Desperate, the rich man made the last proposal to the angel: “Give me just one hour of my life, so that I could admire the beauty of this earth for the last time and spend some time with family and friends whom I haven’t seen for a long time, and I will give you all of my wealth.”
But the angel refused again.
Finally, the man asked if the angel could give him at least one minute so that he could write a goodbye note. His wish was granted and he wrote that note. This is the note:
“Spend your time, which is given to you to live, right. I couldn’t buy even an hour of life with all of my wealth. Listen to your heart and check if the things surrounding you have a true value. Value every minute of your life.” (inspirationalstories.eu)
Many people feel that they are prisoners of time. Instead of using their days and hours for those things which bring them meaning and joy, they allow their days and hours to control them. They are so busy meeting the demands of work, home, and self-imposed schedules, that they leave no time for themselves.
Before explaining the rites of the Passover sacrifice, God said to Moses, Aaron, and the Israelties: “This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months; it shall be the first of the months of the year for you.” (Ex. 12:2)
The commentator Bechor Shor amends the verse to read: “This month shall mark for you the beginning of freedom.” The commentator Sforno adds: “While you were enslaved your days were not your own; now the months shall be “for you.”
One of the hallmarks of a slave is that their time is not their own. Someone else is always telling them what to do and when to do it, including eating and sleeping. Only a free human being can determine how to use time. As slaves in Egypt, the Israelites had no control over how they would spend their days. As free human beings they decided for themselves.
If we consider time as a guideline, many of us are still enslaved. We allow time to control us rather than controlling our time. We always feel that someone or something is demanding our attention. We feel exhausted and trapped.
But the truth is the trap is of our own making. As free human beings we are in control. If we feel enslaved by time, it is because we have abdicated our ability to subdue it.
As free human beings we control how we use our time. As the man in the story teaches, “Spend your time, which is given to you to live, right.” At the end of our lives let us not regret that we didn’t invest the days, weeks, and years we were granted in those people, causes, and activities we loved best.
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Rabbi Rosenthal is spiritual leader of Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego. Your comment may be sent to leonard.rosenthal@sdjewishworld.com or posted on this website per the instructions below.
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