THE STRENGTH OF GIANTS
As we approach the final week of Elul, when we begin to recite Selichot, the special prayers for forgiveness, we have the confidence that, as weak as we may feel, we have tremendous strength nevertheless.
The cumulative mitzvot of the past generations gives us that strength. The good that our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents did lives on forever and accumulates, and is our inheritance.
We might be midgets, but we stand on the shoulders of giants. Although we are puny, we can see even farther than the giants, because we are standing on the shoulders of past generations.
Nine generations ago, the Baal Shem Tov would go to a special place on Rosh Hashana, he would light a fire in a special way, say a special prayer, and as a result the entire world would be blessed.
In the next generation, his successors knew the location of the special place and they knew how to light the fire but they forgot the prayers. So instead, they would pray, “Whatever the Baal Shem Tov achieved here with the fire, we should achieve.”
The next generation knew the location but they forgot the rest. So they just stood in the location and said, “Whatever the Baal Shem Tov achieved here, we should achieve.”
Today, we have forgotten even the location. So what do we do? We tell the story…
We are asked to do only that which we are capable of. We do not have to be like the giants of the past. We just have to do what is in our power—stand on their shoulders. When we do so we lay claim to everything they achieved plus we add our own small part—and that small part, added to the good deeds of our ancestors, might just be enough to tip the scales and bring redemption.
Ask yourself: Do you know what your small part in this world is? What can you add to the cumulative accomplishments of the giants of the past?
Exercise for the day:
- Do one small mitzvah you have not done before.
- Identify something positive that your parent or grandparent did and take it one step further.
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Excerpt from 60 Days: A Spiritual Guide to the High Holidays, by Simon Jacobson. ©Copyright The Meaningful Life Center, 2007. All rights reserved. www.meaningfullife.com.
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