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Making The Most Of Our Time

Rabbi Yehoshua Alt

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R’ Alt merited to learn under the tutelage of R’ Mordechai Friedlander Ztz”l for close to five years. He received Semicha from R’ Zalman Nechemia Goldberg. R’ Alt has written on numerous topics for various websites and publications. He lives with his wife and family in a suburb of Yerushalayim where he studies, writes and teaches. The author is passionate about teaching Jews of all levels of observance.

Making The Most Of Our Time

Why did Hashem make it that there are days, months, years, seasons and the like? Why couldn’t it just be one long continuum, without being bound by different seasons or times?

 

We see a common theme when we look at beginnings. The first Mitzva is החודש הזה לכם; Rosh Chodesh (time).[1] Shulchan Aruch starts יתגבר כארי; one should arise like a lion as he shouldn’t waste his time sleeping.[2] The Gemara learns from Avraham, the first of the Avos, זריזין מקדימים למצות; the zealous are early to perform Mitzvos.[3] When we were taken from Mitzrayim, it was done בחיפזון; in a haste, Zerizus. This is to tell us about the importance of time.[4]

 

The Klausenberger Rebbe preferred a wristwatch over a pocket watch since it takes time to remove and put back a pocket watch.[5] In Kelm, they would have a five minute Seder, in order to instill the importance of five minutes. The Chassam Sofer said he became who he was in five minutes- as he learned with the few extra minutes he found at random times.

 

The Chofetz Chaim was very adamant on wearing shoes without laces. He calculated that shoes with laces take up an extra minute as they require tying. One minute a day is approximately 360 minutes yearly, which is six hours. In a lifetime that comes out to be 420 hours! The Chofetz Chaim wasn’t willing to forfeit 420 hours of his life on that which is unproductive.[6]

 

R’ Yisrael Salanter was once asked by one who said he had only five minutes in his day to learn what he should learn? He responded to learn five minutes of Mussar because then you’ll see you really have a lot more time.

 

One can possess many coins but when it is converted into bills, it appears to be a smaller amount than it originally appeared. Likewise, one may have many seconds and minutes to his life but his life span is only 70 years. For this reason, Hashem made it that there are different seasons, days, nights and so on. One should say to himself at the end of the day “Another day has gone by. What did I accomplish?” The same applies to months, years, seasons and so on. The saying goes, “Fear not death rather unlived life.”[7]

 

At the age of 20, one becomes a בר עונשין; held accountable for his sins.[8] The Pasuk states ימי שנותינו בהם שבעים שנה; the days of our years…are seventy.[9] Each of us has a Yovel in our personal life.[10] Adding 50 (Yovel) to 20 (בר עונשין), we get 70. We should count the days of our life in order to make the days of our life count. This is the meaning in וספרת-[11] count the years of Yovel of our life. Just as by Yovel, slaves and land are set free, similarly the Neshama is freed from the body after one has his Yovel, since when one dies his Neshama leaves him.

 

We have different words to refer to time: זמן, שעה, עת. זמן is related to זימון; prepare because the time we have in this world is just to make use of it, to prepare us for the next world and as the Mishna guides usהתקן עצמך…; prepare yourself in the lobby so that you may enter the banquet hall.[12] Therefore, time is so fleeting as every moment is gone right away since it feeds into the next second. This is in order that we realize the only thing we have from our time is what we do with it. “Today will never happen again but one good deed can make it last forever.” The word שעה is rooted in שוע; to turn, move as it says ואל מנחתו לא שעה; Hashem didn’t turn to Kayin’s Korban[13] because time is moving, fleeting. The term עת is sourced in עתה; now, the present, as we should make the most of the[14] present.[15] The Ibn Ezra once wrote[16] העבר אין, הוה כהרף עין, העתיד עדיין ודאגה מנין; the past is nothing, the present is like the blink of an eye, the future is still not yet so why[17] worry.[18]

[1] Shemos 12:2

[2] There is a saying, “You can often gauge man’s ambition by whether he hates his alarm clock or considers it his dear friend.”

[3] Pesachim 4a

[4] Time doesn’t come back as we see in the date. To illustrate: the date January 1, 2012 comes only once, as it is never duplicated.

[5] We need to internalize that wasting time is wasting our life.

[6] Let us cite the unbelievable words of R’ Dessler (Michtav M’Eliyahu 5, pg 275): איסור הז”ל חמור כל כך… קל וחומר כשמוציא לבטלה את הזמן היקר שלו; the prohibition of wasting seed is very serious… How much more so is the seriousness of wasting precious time!

[7] We don’t have time to do everything but we do have time to do the important things. Don’t do the many trivial rather do the few important.

[8] See Bamidbar, 16:27, Rashi. It says from age 20 and up all those who go to the army. This is also understood as from 20 and older one is a בר עונשין and that is when one’s true battle with the Yetzer Hara begins. This is how the Imrei Emes translates the Mishna (Avos 5:25) בן עשרים לרדף- once one reaches the age of 20, Beis Din Shel Maala can pursue him for his sins. Therefore, he should overpower and pursue the Yetzer Hara (Mayana Shel Torah, Bamidbar 1:3).

[9] Tehillim 90:10. It says כתנות עור (Breishis 3:21); Hashem made for Adam and Chava garments of skin and He clothed them. The Midrash tells us that it went from אור (א) to עור (ע). This means originally he was supposed to live forever as is represented by the א- the Ruchniyos letter (since א represents the אלופו של עולם). After the sin, he brought death to the world. This is symbolized by the ע which yields a Gematria of 70 as that is the years of man.

[10] See Maharsha in Moed Katan, 28a

[11]  25:8

[12] Avos 4:21

[13] Breishis 4:5

[14] There is an expression, “We make our future by the best use of the present.”

[15] Parenthetically, the Pasuk says ולא תותירו ממנו עד בקר; don’t wait until tomorrow to eat the Korban Pesach (Shemos 12:10). Another meaning is don’t wait until tomorrow to start the new project, Gemara, etc. Continues the Pasuk והנותר ממנו- if you did wait until the next day, באש תשרופו- still do it with Hislahavus.

[16] See Daas Chochma Umussar, volume 1, p 452. The Pele Yoatz (דאגה) quotes a different phrase: העבר אין, העתיד עדיין, דאגה מנין, קום שתה יין.

[17] There is a poem in Hebrew that saysהעבר חלומות העתיד דמיונות וההוה נסיונות; the past is dreams, the future is imagination and the present is tests. In the Sefer Michtav M’Eliyahu (volume 3, pg 306), there is a poem that reads, “The past is all memories. The future is but illusory hopes. Focus on the present for that is where your life is. And it consists only of tests.”

[18] Someone once said, “Disease doesn’t bring illness, stress does, since it brings upon disease.”

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