{"id":28023,"date":"2009-09-10T21:06:07","date_gmt":"1970-01-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/production.ou.org\/holidays\/rosh-hashanah\/the_same_old_story\/"},"modified":"2020-09-08T11:57:15","modified_gmt":"2020-09-08T11:57:15","slug":"the_same_old_story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/the_same_old_story\/","title":{"rendered":"The Same Old Story?"},"content":{"rendered":"

One fateful Rosh Hashana Day, the soul of Gershon Kleinbard stood in an endless line of living souls, each waiting to appear before the Master of the Universe for the moment of judgment and reckoning. Only the great\u00a0tzaddikim\u00a0<\/em>sense this encounter; the vast majority of mankind is oblivious to this occurrence. Nonetheless, in the hidden recesses of their unconscious, each person is aware when they stand before the Almighty.<\/p>\n

They were all here together with Gershon Kleinbard; the rich and famous, the poor and unknown, the strong and mighty, the weak and infirm. Each soul stood alone, unsupported by family and friend and gave an accounting for the past year to the Creator.<\/p>\n

\"\"The stirring blasts of the\u00a0shofar<\/em>\u00a0from synagogues around the world pierced the silence and announced that the Day of Judgment had arrived. Fear and trepidation prevailed as six billion souls marched in a single file procession, with the fate of the coming year hanging in the balance. The haunting chants of chazanim and congregations proclaimed the awesomeness of the day. As the words of\u00a0Kivakoras roeh edro\u00a0<\/em>ascended to heaven, mankind trembled in response to the solemn words.<\/p>\n

Like a shepherd pasturing his flock, who passes his sheep under his staff, so do You pass and count and judge the soul of every living being. And You record the verdict of their judgment.<\/p>\n

On Rosh Hashana it will be recorded and on Yom Kippur it will be sealed. How many will pass from the world and how many will be created? Who will live and who will die? Who at his time, and who before his time?<\/p>\n

Standing in judgment with all of humanity, the trivial trappings of life fade into inconsequence. Material wealth, physical pleasure, prestige and honor lose their value, and the meaning and purpose of life becomes clear. Alas, the clarity of the moment, experienced in the depths of each soul, rarely rises to the level of human consciousness. Yes, here and there a spark of recognition breaks through, and tears of remorse swell into people\u2019s eyes at the moment of justice, but the teardrops dry quickly and life goes on as before.<\/p>\n

As Gershon Kleinbard waited on line, a\u00a0malach\u00a0<\/em>suddenly drew near.<\/p>\n

\u201cGershon,\u201d called the angel, \u201cAre you prepared for the powerful question G-d will ask you and every living being today?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat question is that?\u201d said Gershon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a simple question, but very difficult to answer,\u201d said the\u00a0malach<\/em>. \u201cHere it is.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat have you accomplished this past year?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gershon was taken aback by the accusatory tone. \u201cWhy I accomplished a great deal. I oversaw scores of successful projects, was promoted to a better position and earned a salary increase as well. I view myself as a person of great achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n

The\u00a0malach<\/em>\u00a0was undeterred. \u201cThat\u2019s what you did for yourself, but what did you accomplish for others? Have you grown spiritually and religiously?\u201d<\/p>\n

Gershon continued to defend himself. \u201cI\u2019ve accomplished a great deal spiritually too. I\u00a0daven<\/em>\u00a0three times a day, observe\u00a0Shabbos<\/em>, keep kosher and perform numerous\u00a0mitzvos<\/em>. What more do you want me to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

The\u00a0malach<\/em>\u00a0shot back, \u201cGershon, you have been coasting. Yes, you did many\u00a0mitzvos<\/em>\u00a0but you did the same ones in previous years as well. You failed to inject new feeling into your\u00a0<\/em>mitzvah<\/em>\u00a0observance and you are on the same spiritual plateau today as you were years ago.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0malach<\/em>\u00a0continued his assault. \u201cLook, did you\u00a0daven<\/em>\u00a0better this year than in the past? Did you have greater\u00a0kavanah<\/em>? Did you sense that you were standing before the Almighty when you prayed? Did you talk to your friends less during\u00a0davening\u00a0<\/em>time?<\/p>\n

“You put on\u00a0tefillin\u00a0<\/em>daily. Were you inspired by the\u00a0<\/em>mitzvah<\/em>\u00a0even one time? Did you spend more time studying Torah? Do you speak less\u00a0lashon hora<\/em>? Did you practice greater integrity in your business affairs? Is your\u00a0Shabbos<\/em>\u00a0more spiritual? Do you control your temper any better? Do you show greater sensitivity to others? Have you improved your character? If the answer to these questions is no, there has been no progress at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWait,\u201d Gershon protested, \u201cIt\u2019s not true what you say. I thought of one thing. For years my employees have complained that I never show appreciation. This year, I began to say thank you on occasion.\u201d<\/p>\n

The\u00a0malach<\/em>\u00a0laughed. \u201cIs that it? There are more than thirty million seconds in a year. That\u2019s thirty million opportunities for accomplishment and all you can show is a few thank you\u2019s? No other growth and development? As a matter of fact, you have stagnated for the last two decades since you left Yeshiva, and you are no further advanced today than you were twenty years ago.”<\/p>\n

Gershon would not yet concede the point. \u201cYou keep focusing on growth. Why is that the goal? What is wrong with simply doing\u00a0mitzvos<\/em>, even if I do remain the same?\u201d<\/p>\n

The\u00a0malach<\/em>\u00a0responded. \u201cDid you ever notice all living things have stages of development? A rock stays a rock and never evolves, but a person goes from infancy to childhood, then adolescence and adulthood and so on. Even a plant has many stages of growth. It takes years for a small oak seed to blossom and grow into a magnificent tree. Why did G-d make the world this way? To teach a fundamental principle: The purpose of life is to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gershon was still resistant. The angel produced a mirror. \u201cGershon, look inside. What do you see?\u201d<\/p>\n

Gershon let out a piercing cry. The mirror showed a reflection of Gershon\u2019s form, but instead of standing six feet tall, Gershon was only twelve inches high. \u201cIf your physical growth was stunted,\u201d said the\u00a0malach<\/em>, \u201cyou would be devastated. Why are you indifferent and complacent with being a spiritual midget? Why should G-d renew your lease on life to remain just as diminished as the year before?\u201d<\/p>\n

Gershon could not stop gazing in the mirror as he contemplated how his life was a complete failure and loss. The words of the\u00a0malach<\/em>\u00a0finally penetrated and hit home. Just then, another\u00a0shofar<\/em>\u00a0blast wafted through the air, and the clarion call of the\u00a0shofar<\/em>\u00a0pierced through Gershon\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n

After a long silence, the\u00a0malach<\/em>\u00a0spoke once again. \u201cGershon, you have wasted your life and accomplished almost nothing. You are undeserving of a renewal this coming year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gershon began to cry uncontrollably, and pleaded for his life. \u201cPlease, I\u2019m too young to go. Do you think G-d will give me one more chance? I promise, things will be different this coming year, and I will not be the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

The\u00a0<\/em>malach<\/em>\u00a0inquired, \u201cOK, Gershon, what changes do you plan to make? What course of action will you pursue? What areas of growth will be your focus, and what target dates of completion do you anticipate for this process of growth?\u201d<\/p>\n

Gershon couldn\u2019t answer. \u201cI\u2019m not really sure yet, but trust me, this year will be different.\u201d<\/p>\n

The\u00a0malach<\/em>\u00a0was about to point out that without a solid plan, nothing would ever change. Just then, Gershon\u2019s turn was called and he was whisked away to face his Maker. The angel called after the soul, \u201cGershon! You said the same thing last year and the year before, and the year before that too.\u201d But Gershon was already gone.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0malach<\/em>\u00a0moved on to the next person on line. \u201cExcuse me sir. Are you prepared for the powerful question G-d will ask you and every living being today?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One fateful Rosh Hashana Day, the soul of Gershon Kleinbard stood in an endless line of living souls, each waiting to appear before the Master of the Universe for the moment of judgment and reckoning. Only the great\u00a0tzaddikim\u00a0sense this encounter; the vast majority of mankind is oblivious to this occurrence. Nonetheless, in the hidden recesses […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":150,"featured_media":39038,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[337],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rosh-hashanah"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Same Old Story? - Jewish Holidays<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Are we prepared for the simple - yet difficult questions G-d will ask on Rosh Hashanah: what have we accomplished this past year? what changes will we make?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/the_same_old_story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Same Old Story? 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