Every so often we hear or read about someone who lived to a ripe old age and even lived till over a hundred years old. When these people are interviewed they are asked what they do with themselves at such an old age. The truth is what are these people doing in their old age? Another day of eating the few foods they can eat, sleeping and maybe a little more.
On the other hand we see Dovid Hamelech davened in Tehillim (118) I don’t want to die but to live and I will recite the praises of Hashem. Tzaddikim treasured every day of their lives as a gift to be able to serve Hashem. So obviously they prayed for long life to be able to serve Hashem more and more.
Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzin once asked Rabbi Moshe Zvi of Savran, is it possible for a person to be connected in his thoughts to Hashem twenty fours a day, seven days a week, fifty two weeks a year, year after year?
The Rebbe of Savran doubted that it is possible.
The Ruziner answered, “my grandfather, Rabbi Avraham Hamalach was such a person.”
“But he died very young at the age of thirty six,” said the Savraner Rebbe.
“My father Rabbi Shalom of Fruhavitch was also like that,” said the Ruziner.
“He also died very young at the age of thirty six,” said the Savraner.
“My brother Rabbi Avraham was also like that.”
“He died in his early twenties,” said the Savraner.
The Ruziner lost his patience and said, “Is a person created to live long? Trees have long life. Even after they stop producing fruit and their branches have dried up but they still stand for many years. But a person is created to utilize his time to the maximum.”
Sure, it’s not a problem to have long life as long as they are used for serving Hashem. By Avraham it says, Avraham was old coming with his days and the Zohar explains that he brought his days with him, he had utilized his days.
For most of us this is beyond our capabilities. We aren’t in that holy league of being connected to Hashem twenty four hours a day. But we can at least learn from the following story.
Rabbi Avraham of Kalisk was on his way to Shul. An old Jew shaking whilst holding on to his walking stick stopped him and asked, “Is the Rebbe going to daven? This is my name and my mother’s name, please pray for me.”
“What should I pray for,” asked Reb Avraham?
“That I die today,” replied the old man.
The Rebbe was shocked.
The man explained, “Rebbe please understand, I can’t see properly, I can barely hear, my teeth have all fallen out, I find it difficult to swallow, all my joints hurt, I can’t fall asleep at night, and when I do, the slightest noise wakes me up. I forget all the time and am confused. What’s the purpose of living such a life?”
The Rabbi looked at the man with his warm burning eyes. “Tell me, did you put on Tefillin this morning and did you pray?”
“Sure Rebbe,” replied the man. “I was up just after dawn and many times I am awake even before.”
“And if you don’t die today and you merit to wake up tomorrow morning, will you put on Tefillin again and pray?”
“Sure,” replied the man.
“And you want to die today,” asked the Rebbe in amazement? “Don’t you realize that it is worth a person coming to this world and suffer eighty years the suffering of Iyov in order to put on Tefillin one time during his entire lifetime and say Shema. And you don’t need to wait eighty years just twenty four hours till your next opportunity to put on Tefillin again. Isn’t it worth it?”
And what about us, whilst we are young and healthy that we can say Krias Shema every day, say Amen after hearing a Beracha and we can learn Torah and do so many Mitzvos, aren’t we so lucky? Maybe we aren’t connected twenty four, seven to Hashem. But we have so many opportunities that we can serve Hashem and do so many Mitzvos we have to realize and appreciate how lucky we are and try our best to maximize our potential in Avodas Hashem.
And with this we can understand the words of the Passuk in this week’s Parsha (Devarim 4-4) that when a person is attached to Hashem then ‘Chaim kulchem hayom’ you are living today and as the Ohr Hachaim explains that our lives have a purpose every day that we are alive.
Every day, so many Mitzvos, Chessed, Tefillah, Torah. So many ways that we can connect to Hashem.
