It’s been a while since I’ve been astonished to the point of being speechless. Last night was one of those times. We had the privilege of hearing a first hand story of miracles from my friend Rabbi Elie Estrin. His son, Nissi, was diagnosed in utero with multiple heart defects and they were told he would never survive more than a few hours. Fast forward four+ years and Nissi is a happy and lively, mischief-loving four year old. Yes, he has had multiple major surgeries and procedures; yes, he is physically limited in some ways but he is alive and bringing much joy to many. The presentation raised many fundamental matters; trust in G-d, the limitations of doctors’ expertise and above all the value of life. It’s not unusual to take life for granted; we wake up in the morning and we go about our day with nary a thought about how amazing it is that we are alive. Hearing the story last night reminded me of the value of each and every life, beginning with my own life. Don’t get me wrong, we all value life and appreciate the time that we have. But do we truly make an effort to ensure that our time here is well spent? That the investment of resources in our life is justified by the return? I know myself that there is always room for growth and improvement. And today is just the day to consider it. You see, today is called the “Second Passover”. The “Second Passover” came about due to a group of people who had missed the original opportunity to bring the Passover sacrifice and begged for another chance. Their entreaties resulted in a holiday added to the Jewish calendar, the “Second Passover”. Nowadays the holiday is more symbolic than observed since we don’t have the ability to offer sacrifices, however the meaning of the day is deeply significant. The “Second Passover” reminds us that it is never too late - no matter the choices we’ve made until now, no matter the life we’ve chosen for ourselves - we always have the opportunity to choose differently. There are often things that upon reflection we wish we could have done differently, choices that we could have decided differently. And many times those reflections conclude with resignation and acceptance of the status quo. Today is a reminder that we should never be satisfied with the status quo just because that is what we’ve been familiar with until now. The difficulty is the effort required to change. For me, hearing stories like the one we heard last night provides a boost and serves as inspiration to gather the internal resources needed to make the necessary change. What inspires you to make change? Take a minute and think about it. Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash
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Rabbi Yossi's Blog
Welcome to Rabbi Yossi's Blog; where you can expect to find thoughts on current events, Torah learning and Jewish spirituality. And of course, some good Jewish humor.