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From the Bimah
August 2005

By what standards will we be measured when our lives draw to a close? No doubt, that is a tough question. The Talmud (Shabbat 31a) lists six criteria--questions, all of which will be asked by God upon our demise; four of which I care to touch on briefly.

The first: Nassata vānattata bāemunah. Were you honest in business? (Literally, did you deal in good faith?) You donāt have to be a corporate executive to answer that question. Every time you go to a movie and manipulate the true ages of your children in order to purchase a reduced ticket, or intentionally fill out your tax return improperly, or inflate an insurance claim that query applies.

Second: Asakta bāpriyah vārivyah? Did you work at having a family? The Talmud fully acknowledges--not everyone has, can have, or chooses to have children (let alone get married). A more inclusive read of the question posed by the rabbis would be: did you work at being a family--a Jewish family? Our Jewish family needs your help, particularly now. Intermarriage, assimilation, indifference plague the Jewish family. Our numbers are down and that downward trend continues across the globe.

Third: Kavatah eitim la Torah? Did you make time for Torah in your life? Regardless of oneās religious orientation, Torah is the bedrock upon which Judaism is defined and upon which it rests. The foundation for all that is Judaism comes from a mindset actively steeped in Torah and rabbinic tradition.

Fourth, and for this brief glance last: Tzipita La yeshua? Did you hope for (anticipate) redemption? Or, as I would apply the question, were you optimistic? An inherent optimism comes from living a God-filled life. There is a higher purpose to our existence, one that our tradition holds emanates from our creator. Did your life reflect that; did you at least grapple with the notion?

As we begin to approach the Jewish New Year, these ethical measurements are more pressing; as all of us are about to add another year to our lives, these measurements become ever more immediate and personal. I suspect in the final analysis, the standard by which all of us will be measured, during these upcoming Days of Awe and beyond, is whether the world is a qualitatively better place the result of our having lived.

Rabbi Michael Gotlieb