Every Moment Counts

When the Torah relates the passing of Sarah Imeinu, it informs us that she lived for 127 years. A fascinating Midrash describes how Rabbi Akiva was once teaching his talmidim and they started to doze off. In an attempt to wake them up, he changed the subject and asked, “Why did Esther ha’Malkah merit to rule over 127 provinces? It was because she saw her great, great grandmother, Sarah Imeinu, who lived for 127 years.” The Midrash relates that at that moment, all of his talmidim woke up and started listening attentively to their teacher.

This is a very puzzling incident. First, why would the students of the greatest teacher of the generation doze off during the lecture? Second, of all of the ways to arouse them, why did Rabbi Akiva chose to speak about Sarah and Esther? Third, what is the connection between Sarah’s 127 years of life and Esther’s reign over 127 provinces? Besides the fact it happens to be the same number, what deeper connection is there?

The Chidushei ha’Rim sheds some light on this story. Rabbi Akiva noticed that his students were beginning to lose their sense of the importance of time. He decided to “wake them up” to the value of time by teaching them about their matriarch. Sarah Imeinu accomplished so much with every moment that she lived in this world, that her descendant many generations later merited to rule over 127 provinces, corresponding to the number of years of Sarah’s life. The Chidushei ha’Rim explains that what Rabbi Akiva was saying to his students was, “Take hold of life! Think about every moment! Why are you sleeping now when there is so much to be accomplished!”

A story is told about a wealthy fellow whose doctor told him that he needed to get more exercise. He decided to follow the doctor’s orders by going on a very long hike. He wanted to take someone with him, so he went over to a random person on the street and asked him if he would be so kind as to accompany him on his walk. The man agreed, delighted with the opportunity to spend so much time with a wealthy man.

As they were walking, the wealthy man turned to his new friend and asked, “Tell me something. Do you enjoy music?”

The man answered, “Music? No, I’m tone deaf. I don’t even know how to listen to music, much less play an instrument.”

The wealthy man was surprised and responded, “What? You don’t appreciate music? You’re missing out on 25 percent of life! Music is so enchanting and enriching! If you don’t have that in your life, you are missing so much!”

They continued walking until the wealthy man again turned to his new friend and asked, “Tell me something. Do you know other languages?”The man looked to the wealthy man, “Languages? I can barely speak English, never mind anything else. I don’t know any languages.”The wealthy man was shocked. “What? I speak and write 17 languages! How do you not know languages? It’s so important to be able to communicate with all types of people and to be able to read the wonderful literature of many cultures. You’re missing out on another 25 percent of life!”

The man was not really sure what to make of this strange chatter and shrugged it off as meaningless.

The wealthy man continued, “Perhaps you enjoy mathematics?” The man replied, “I have a phone and a calculator. Why would I know math?” The wealthy man became incredulous. “What? Math is so important in life! You’re missing another 25 percent!” The man jokingly responded, “Okay, so all together I’m missing 75 percent of life, although I think I’m living pretty well.”

A few minutes later they heard a crack. They looked down and saw that they had unwittingly walked over a frozen lake which had cracked under their weight, revealing the water below. The wealthy man fell into the open hole and began begging his new friend, whom he was grateful to have been with, to save him.

The man turned to the helpless wealthy man and asked, “You don’t know how to swim?” When the wealthy man shook his head in the negative, his friend said, “You may know music, you may know languages, and you may know mathematics. But if you don’t know how to swim, you have nothing in life.”

This anecdote helps us understand that there are certain things which are truly important in life. We sometimes lose perspective of the wonderful life that the Ribono Shel Olam has given us. We have a natural tendency to take our time here for granted and forget the value of time and the potential for greatness that we all possess. This week’s Parshah reminds us to take hold of every moment and use it to its fullest capacity. What we accomplish and achieve will help us not only in this world, but we will reap the benefits and reward for all eternity in the World to Come.