Life, That We May Live
A strange command: "Choose life, that you may live." (Deuteronomy 30:19) A choice between life and not-life, that we can understand. But to add, "that you may live," that seems the height of superfluity. If we choose life, then of course we shall live.


Rashbam has this to say: "God did not exhort them to choose life like one who serves for a reward; He meant that they should choose what really is life." Choose life? Of course, we will choose life. But what sort of life? That is the question.


Someone said, "Only God can add years to your life. Only you can add life to your years." The quantity of our life is up to God; we can want many years, but that choice is God's. Our choice is about quality, putting excitement, meaning and purpose into every single day.


I remember someone saying to me, "I have all I want. Why do I need to live any longer?" I think I gave the right answer: "Life is not about accumulating assets - it's about being an asset."


Someone else told me, "I'm in pain every day. Every night I ask God to make sure I don't wake up again." Here, too, I hope I gave the right answer when I said, "Pain is unbearable, and I hope that God and the doctors can bring you some relief. But don't

Life is not about accumulating assets - it's about being an asset.

pray to die. By being your own sweet self, you give your life meaning and enhance the life of those around you."


Hard to Be a Jew
"This commandment which I command you this day," says the Almighty, "is not too hard for you, neither is it far off." (Deuteronomy 30:11)


"Not too hard"? It feels that way.


The Rambam's calculation is that there are less than a hundred commandments that apply to the ordinary person living an ordinary life. Put to one side those commands that apply only to rare categories of people or in rare situations or at rare times, and we are actually left with far less than the famous figure of six hundred and thirteen. Then, analyse the commandments that do apply to us and most of them are not so-called "rituals," but ethical commands - loving one's neighbour, honest weights and measures, keeping far from a falsehood. Yet, whether it is ritual or ethical duties that devolve upon us, it is often a difficult task. To keep kashrut or Shabbat correctly is not easy, nor is living a decent, moral, modest, truthful life.


The important thing is to remember that it can be done, not by constantly obsessing about our duty, but by developing a mindset that says, "I am training myself to act instinctively in the way I am commanded to." And to use this method in matters of ethics and not just ritual. The Jew who has a well-honed ethical instinct will automatically avoid shameful or questionable modes of conduct. Their instinct will also tell them what to say and what to do when it comes to making decisions, whether they appear great and world-shattering or small and almost insignificant.