Friday, November 13, 2009

Breisheet/Genesis: Chayei Sarah - Using our Time Wisely

Sarah's lifetime was one hundred years, twenty years, and seven years... - Breisheet Chapter 23:1

This parsha begins with Sarah's death. As we see from the quote from the Torah - her life is broken into parts. There's a focus here on time.

We can divide our own lives into parts as well. Growing up, being a teenager, young adult, midlife and our older years. How have we been using our time?

We have two jobs in this world:
* To create yourself in the image of G-d.
* To make this world a dwelling place for G-d.

Everything we do should be focused on these goals. Every moment, day, week, month and year - should be examined to see if we've grown in learning Torah, doing mitzvot, helping our neighbors, and creating a world G-d would be proud to share with us.

We've all heard the expression - "killing time". Time is a precious gift, we don't know how much of it we've been allotted in this world. Why would we waste the time that we've been given?

If you have "free" moment - what are you going to do with it? Turn on the television or read a Jewish book? Give a dollar to tzedukah (charity) or buy a candy bar? Choices, big and small, face us every day - what are we going to choose?

Sarah used her time - every moment - focused on these two goals. She was a true partner with G-d. We see from her life that she knew what her job was here on earth. She knew that time matters - that we only get so much of it.

Take a moment to look at the way you spend your time during the day. Is most of it spent in front of the television? Listening to the radio? How much of it is dedicated to being a better Jew? Doing mitzvot? Learning new things?

Introduce 5 uninterrupted minutes into your day (every day) reading something Jewish that you're interested in. Not more - not less. You can even set a timer. Begin today - you will quickly see what a difference it will make.

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