Two Rules To Live By




As posted on January 25, 2013 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama

"At the wedding of the son of Reb Avraham Yaakov of Sadigora to the daughter of Reb Zvi HaKohen of Rimanov, the groom's grandfather, Reb Yisrael of Ruzhin, stood up and said to the father of the bride: 'Let me share with you the yichus (Yiddish, literally 'good blood') of our family. My great-grandfather was Reb Dov Ber; my grandfather was his son, Reb Avraham, who was called the Angel; my great-uncle was Reb Nachum of Chernobyl; and my uncle was his son, Reb Mordechai of Chernobyl. So, my dear friend, please share with us your lineage.'

'My parents died when I was ten years of age,' Reb Zvi said softly. 'I did not know them well enough to tell you anything about them other than that they were righteous and god-hearted people. After their deaths, a relative apprenticed me to a tailor, for whom I worked for five years. It was during that time that I learned two rules by which I have governed my life: Do not spoil anything new, and fix anything old.'

With that, the groom's grandfather leaped to his feet, shouting joyously: 'This is a marriage of two great lineages. These children are doubly blessed!'"

Do not spoil anything new. Fix anything old. Two simple rules to live by. But how often do we truly embrace these precepts?

Do not spoil anything new. When you go into a new situation, how do you treat it? New experiences in life? New people that we meet? By human nature, we try to draw connections between things. But how do we act when something comes up again? And again? Or a similar situation? Do we act with fear? Do we dilute the course of action out of uncertainty? Do we slowly test the water, one toe at a time, at risk of missing a potential opportunity? Or do we jump in? Throw caution to the wind? Embrace the new situation and the uncertainty that comes with it? Every situation is different. But, like a baby trying to grow into an independent person, or a sapling growing into a tree, the more we spoil the things around us, the harder it is for the new things to grow into fully functioning beings, so that one day we can enjoy their fruit.

Fix anything old. Think of your first friend. Or your oldest friend. Are you still in contact with them? Do you take the time to build into their life, and to spend time together? Do you even talk to them? When things get old and stagnant, they are in need of fixing if we wish to build and continue to maintain a relation with them. This goes for relationships, houses, synagogues, Judaism, really anything in life. In order for anything to function the same was as it did when it was young, it needs to be updated, fixed, and then maintained to stay working at a high level.

My blessing for you all this Shabbos is to embrace new things, and to fix old things in life in need of repair. Start small, and keep building. Not only will it make you more content, it might lead to some pretty good stories and opportunities.

Shabbat Shalom,

SB

Here's to fixing the holes in your live, to keep your mind from wandering!

(Story adapted from "Hasidic Tales" by Rabbi Rami Shapiro)