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The
Present!
Rosh Hashanah, Second Day
September
17, 2004
I would love
to give every one here a new year's present as an expression
of my joy that we are all here together, my appreciation that
you are here on the second day of Yom Tov. We call today the
birthday of the world and even though it's my birthday in just
four short days, it would be a sort of birthday present from
me to you. Wouldn't it be nice if you could take something
home with you, kind of a souvenir, enjoy it and say you got it
in the synagogue today? If I could, I'd love to give every one
a brand new Pontiac.
They're
sitting right next door but since I can't, I don't want to
give you just any gift. I want to give you something you
really want and could use. What would that gift be? Think
about it for a moment! I would love to be able to present this
Present to you!
I actually
have a present in mind. What would you say about a present
that could make you happy and successful at work and in life. Talking about hope, is that too much to hope for? Could you
imagine being happy or happier and feeling really successful
personally and professionally? This is even better than a
Pontiac. I feel this way sometimes but to feel it more or
consistently, I would love this gift as well.
A few years
ago, I gave a sermon on the best selling book Who Moved My
Cheese? Was I playing fair when I gave this sermon on Yom
Kippur when we all could have gone for a piece or two of some
good jarlsburg or brie, not to mention a nice merlot or
chardonay to wash it down. This past year I happened to come
across a book by the author of Who Moved My Cheese?
Spencer Johnson M.D. called The Present The Gift that Makes
You Happy and Successful at Work and in Life. What is
Jewish about this book? On the one hand nothing and on the
other hand everything. I happened to begin reading the book at
home in June and then continued reading the Hebrew version I
bought in Israel; Hamatanah like our gift shop, the
gift, the present. When I finished reading this simple and yet
profound little book, I recalled a D'var Torah that I gave a
couple of years ago with a very similar message and so The
Present is a very Jewish present I think. I shared my message
in the form of a D'var Torah which doesn't usually become a
best seller. Dr. Johnson lays it out in the form of a
captivating story which I'm happy became another best seller
because The Present can be a wonderful present for its readers
and for us for the new year.
The book
opens with two colleagues, Liz and Bill who had once worked
together now meeting for lunch. Liz asks Bill, who had left
the company some time ago to meet because, since her
promotion, she had come to feel more and more stressed and
overwhelmed by her work. Stressed, overwhelmed, something many
here can relate to. Liz had heard how Bill was enjoying great
success in his new position and thought he'd be the right
person to talk to. When they meet Liz comments on how good
Bill looks. He says "I am good. I'm enjoying my work and life
more. It's a nice change for me!" Bill says "I've learned a
few things. At work we're getting better results, faster and
with less stress. And to top it off, I'm enjoying life more."
Liz of course asks what could have brought this about and Bill
says "I heard a story from a good friend of mine. It turned
out to be a real gift. In fact, the story is called The
Present. It's a story about a young man who discovers a way to
live and work that makes him happier and more Successful."
Bill is hesitant however to tell Liz the story because she was
always the skeptic and thought she might poo poo it but when
she says "I really want to hear the story." Bill begins the
tale.
Telling
stories is very Jewish. We call it Midrash. In Midrash there
is a parable called the mashal and what we learn out
of the parable is called the nimshal.I'm not going to
tell you the mashal, the whole mainse, but
it begins with a young boy and a wise old man who had become
friends. The young boy likes to visit and talk to the old man.
One day the young boy starts to learn about the Present from
the old man. The old man liked to watch the young boy play in
the neighborhood with such joy and laughter totally engaged in
what he was doing. As the boy grew a bit, the old man saw him
mowing lawns and whistling while he worked. When they talked,
the young boy would ask what the present really was. As the
young boy became a teenage, the old man saw how he had grown
more dissatisfied and impatient. When the teenager really
feels in need of some present and presses the old man to tell
him what the present is, the old man says "You already know
what the present is. You already know where to find it. And
you already know how it can make you happy and successful. You
knew it best when you were younger. You have simply
forgotten." Then the old man said something that disappointed
the teenager "the Present is a gift you give yourself. Only
you have the power to discover what it is." I hope you don't
feel equally disappointed in knowing that this Present is
really in each one of us and only we can present it to
ourselves.
The teenager
becomes a young man, finishes school and gets a job but finds
himself often unhappy. He's not terribly successful in his
relationships and when he gets past over for a promotion, he
becomes disappointed and angry and depressed and goes to visit
the old man. The old man gives this tired and unhappy young
man advise that is good advise for all of us. He tells the
young man to take some time for himself, to get away and think
and let the answer come to you."
That is what
these days, in good part, are about. By coming here, we get
away from our normal lives out there. We take this time to
pray, to think and maybe discover some life answers to our
questions and maybe find the Present and take it home with us.
I won't tell
you how the young man finds it but I'll tell you what present
he finds. The Present is Not The Past And It Is Not The
Future. The Present Is The Present Moment! The Present Is Now!
Being in the Present means focusing on what is happening right
Now! It means appreciating the gifts you are offered every
day!
And what is
Jewish about this Present? The psalmist says Zeh Hayom
Asah Hashem, Nagila V'nismecha bo, This is the Day the
Lord has made, let us rejoice and celebrate in it. This day.
Today, to live in it. Don't think and dwell on what happened
yesterday or be anxious about what might happen tomorrow. "The
Present is focusing on what is right now, today, this moment.
Near the end of the service, one of our favorite prayers
Hayom, Hayom, Hayom,repeats this word again and again
until it sinks in. Hayom today, this day live in it,
focus on what is before you. Today, this day, live in it. It
sounds easy but its not. To live fully in the present means
to, in the Hebrew edition the word is l'hitmaked to
focus on what is happening right now. Sometimes my task is
here and my mind is there. I'm not in the present. If you are
talking to me at this moment and I'm thinking about what I
have to do later or what I messed up yesterday than I'm not in
the present. If you are talking but my eyes are directed at my
computer or T.V. I'm not present, I'm not focused. But when
I'm officiating at a Bar Mitzvah and that Bar Mitzvah is the
most important thing in my life at that moment, I'm focused.
When you are sitting in my office and no matter how busy or
crazy my day has been or will be and I am totally engaged with
you, I am focused in the present. When I'm writing a sermon
and all of my energies are directed to the task, I am in the
present. "Being in the Present Means Tuning Out Distractions
and Paying Attention to What is Important, Now. You Create
Your own present By What You Give Your Attention To. Since
I've read this little book, at times I catch myself and I say
להתמקד focus on this and give it my total presence.
When the
young man asks his old friend what then is the purpose of the
past and future, the old man tells him to first learn well the
meaning of the present and then he can come to know the other
tenses as well. When we do arrive at the past, it's meaning is
very much the meaning of these holy days. The old man says "it
is important to use the Past to learn from your mistakes. Or,
if you've done well in the Past, look at why and build on your
successes." He goes on, it is hard to let go of the Past if
you have not Learned from the Past. As soon as You learn and
let Go, you improve the Present." The old man poses three
questions "What happened in the past? What did I learn from
it? What can I do differently now?" We can ask these three
questions about this past year. You cannot change the past but
you can learn from it. "What happened in the past year? What
did I learn from it? What can I do differently now? "When the
Same situation Arises, you can do things differently and enjoy
a more successful present?"
This could
have been taken from the Rambam's steps of Teshuvah
- repentance. The great Jewish medieval philosopher
Maimonides explains the process of repentance as recognizing
that what we did was wrong, then feeling a sense of remorse
then learning from it. If it involves another person, asking
that person's forgiveness and making restitution. Promising
not to repeat it and finally, when we find ourselves in the
same or similar circumstances, behaving differently and
behaving better. In order to live best in the Present, learn
from the past. We call it repentance, the work of this day.
I like the
idea of focusing on what's before me and so living in the
Present. I like the idea of learning from the past. And
regarding the future, it is advice that we might find
ourselves giving our teenage children but a lesson we would do
well to heed ourselves. "The old man said 'While it is not
wise to be in the future, for that is how you lose yourself in
worry or anxiety, it is important to plan for the Future."
And the old
man poses three more questions What would a wonderful future
be like? What are my plans to make it happen? What am I doing
today to make it happen?
And there is
one more item. Have a sense of Purpose. Why did the old man,
who had himself been so successful in the world of business
spend so much time with this young man and as it turns out
with others... because he had a Purpose that extended beyond
self-gain. His Purpose -his reason for getting up in the
morning - was to help others become happy and successful."
This gave me
pause to sit and think about my purpose in life which while
not exclusively is very much tied up with my rabbinate.
Reflecting on my sense of purpose, kind of my own mission
statement, I felt energized to begin the new year and to plan
more for it. Near the end of the parable, the whole Present is
summed up. When you Want To Be Happy And More Successful It is
Time To Be in The Present Moment. When You Want The Present To
Be Bettter Than The Past It Is Time To Learn From The Past.
When You Want the Future To Be Better Than The Present, It Is
Time To Plan for the Future. When You Live and Work With
Purpose, And Respond To What Is Important Now You Are More
Able to Lead, Manage, Support, Befriend and Love. When its all
said and done, there's nothing all that new about this idea.
Spencer Johnson didn't discover it. Our senior Gabbai Max, a
blessed memory, used to say Seize the day, it's a gift, why do
you think they call it The Present? And Max made the most of
the present until the very end. No there's nothing new about
this gift but most gifts we give or receive aren't new
inventions. They're gifts because they become ours. If only we
could make these gifts ours. If we can make this idea ours,
learn from the past to improve ourselves, feel purpose in life
and plan for the future and most of all live in the present,
focus on this moment, then we will walk out of here with
something so much greater than just a fully loaded brand new,
shiny Pontiac.
The Present! Enjoy!
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