DEFINING SUCCESS
We say in our Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur prayers “O HaShem, instill Your awe upon all Your works and Your dread upon all that You have creat-ed.” Do we really mean what we say? Do we really want HaShem to instill dread upon all that He created? I am one of those creations – do I want dread instilled in me? There are plenty of movements in America whose growth will certainly create dread in HaShem’s creatures. Is that what we really want?
Let us continue the prayer. “Let all Your works revere You and all creatures prostrate themselves before You. Let them all become a single society to do Your Will wholeheartedly.” Well, that answers why we ask for it. The only question remains, do we really want it?
Obviously if we have been reciting this prayer on Rosh Hashanah as well as Yom Kippur for the past 2,500 years we must mean it.
Let us try to appreciate why we really mean what we ask for. In order to do so it is imperative that we clarify our societal priorities.
Every society has its own set of priorities. The method in determining what the society’s priorities are is by asking a basic question to which the answer will identify those priorities. The question is “how does society define success”. Let me place the question in the following context. You are walking by a group of people and they are talking about a certain individual. Someone says “that guy is a very successful individual”. What did the speaker mean by that? Did he mean that he has a happy marriage and his children respect him? Perhaps he meant that he is the CEO of a large company and he has 1000 people working under him. The answer to that question will tell you the priorities of that society.
In the Western society success is defined by material acquisition and affluence. Those are their societal priorities. At varying periods in Europe the societal priority was patriotism. People sacrificed many things to be able to serve in protecting the motherland.
The Jewish people’s societal priority is to perfect the world to become a home for the Presence of HaShem. We aim to create a world that is worthy of housing His Presence. When the world takes a downturn and declines in its moral standing we desperately turn to HaShem in assisting us in raising the moral standard. Unfortunately, it often takes drastic events to inspire the world to change their moral vector.
So even though nobody really wishes for the dread, if that is what it takes to recalibrate the world’s moral standing we want it.
So, let us get back to our question; do we really want the situation in America’s security to decline? The answer is No! However, if that is the only way to wake up the world to recognize that only HaShem can provide true security, then that is what we want.
May we see the day when the knowledge of HaShem fills the world like water fills the ocean.
Have a wonderful Shabbos, a successful Yom Kippur and an easy fast.
Paysach Diskind