{"id":59117,"date":"2018-01-31T19:53:23","date_gmt":"2018-02-01T00:53:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=59117"},"modified":"2018-02-05T05:31:39","modified_gmt":"2018-02-05T10:31:39","slug":"on-the-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/on-the-list\/","title":{"rendered":"On the List"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s funny where we derive the lessons that stick with us. For example, a first-grade teacher might make an offhand comment that lasts a lifetime. I learned one such long-lasting lesson from Night Court<\/em>, an enjoyable but fairly unremarkable sitcom of the mid-eighties through early nineties.<\/p>\n

The protagonist of Night Court<\/em> was Judge Harry Stone, the youngest judge in New York City history, portrayed by Harry Anderson. (You may recall Anderson as \u201cHarry the Hat\u201d on Cheers<\/em>. He played a lot of characters named Harry.) In one Night Court<\/em> episode, Judge Stone explained how he became the youngest jurist ever. The mayor had a list of prospective candidates for the position. He called the first name on the list, but that person wasn\u2019t home. (This was back when our phones were connected to the walls of our houses.) The mayor called the next candidate, who also wasn\u2019t home. He called every name on the list until he finally came to Harry\u2019s, at the very bottom. Harry was home, so he got the job.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t recall to whom Judge Stone was recounting this story or for what purpose but I do recall that person\u2019s response: he scoffed at Harry\u2019s qualifications because, after all, he was last on the list.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Harry countered, \u201cbut I was on<\/em> the list.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boom. Served.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot to be said for just being on the list. A doctor who graduated at the bottom of his class at Harvard is still a Harvard-trained physician; I would trust him a lot more than I would the valedictorian of Moe\u2019s Online Medical College and Driving School.<\/p>\n

\"\"This is true in other ways. In Crossfit, daily results are logged on the gym\u2019s whiteboard. On occasion, I have been at the top of my class results. I\u2019m usually in the middle and often at the bottom. It doesn\u2019t matter. It takes some training to stop thinking of the daily results as a ranking. We\u2019re not in competition with one another, we\u2019re only in competition with ourselves. It\u2019s okay if I don\u2019t lift the heaviest or complete the quickest; what matters is that I\u2019m there, getting it done. The important thing is to be on the list.<\/p>\n

In how many other scenarios might this be relevant? Perhaps one might despair of his intellectual ability compared to others and give up on shiurim<\/em>. That\u2019s the wrong attitude. One need not be the most pious, the most intelligent or the most knowledgeable student in the kollel. One need only do his best. Even the last guy on the roster is far ahead of those who don\u2019t bother to show up at all.<\/p>\n

This is where I normally cite some Talmudic dictum to support my position but in this instance, nothing jumped out and grabbed me. Hillel says not to separate oneself from the community (Avos 2:4) but that\u2019s not really what I\u2019m talking about. You know what does sum up this sentiment nicely? The old jazz standard \u201cThe Saints\u201d (author unknown). The refrain of the song is \u201cWhen the saints go marching in, I want to be in that number\u2026.\u201d The person singing doesn\u2019t need to be at head of the line, he just wants to be among those who get to go in. That\u2019s a pretty good attitude. It\u2019s one that Yeravam ben Nevat (Jeroboam) would have been wise to internalize.<\/p>\n

Yeravam, you may recall, was the first king of the Ten Tribes following their secession from the nation. Originally a hero, he turned bad immediately after ascending to the throne. Nevertheless, God extended to him a rare invitation. As the Talmud in Sanhedrin (102a) details, God approached Yeravam and said, \u201cRepent, and you, I, and David will all stroll together in Eden.\u201d Yeravam asked, \u201cWho will go first?\u201d God replied, \u201cDavid will go first.\u201d \u201cIn that case,\u201d Yeravam responded, \u201cI don\u2019t want it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yeravam would have been wise to accept the offer even though he wasn\u2019t going to be at the top of the list. Instead, the mishna in Sanhedrin tells us that \u201cthree kings and four commoners have no share in the Next World\u2026.\u201d The first of the three kings? Yeravam. (He really<\/em> should have taken that deal!)<\/p>\n

Similarly, on the \u201cHigh Holidays\u201d of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, we ask that God inscribe us in the metaphorical \u201cBook of Life.\u201d We\u2019re not real demanding about what page He puts us on, we only ask that we make it through the final edit!<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t tell you what lists you want to be on. Only you know whether you aspire to be a night court judge, a Harvard-trained doctor, a Crossfitter or a yeshiva student \u2013 or if you\u2019ve received an invitation to go strolling in Eden with King David! Whatever your aspirations, both temporal and spiritual, don\u2019t despair just because you\u2019re not the best. Let\u2019s take that one step further: don\u2019t despair even if you\u2019re the worst! You\u2019re not in competition with anyone else. At the end of the day, we\u2019re not being ranked. All that matters is that our names are on the list.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s funny where we derive the lessons that stick with us. For example, a first-grade teacher might make an offhand comment that lasts a lifetime. I learned one such long-lasting lesson from Night Court, an enjoyable but fairly unremarkable sitcom of the mid-eighties through early nineties. The protagonist of Night Court was Judge Harry Stone,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":384,"featured_media":33855,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\nOn the List - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sometimes, I'm on the top of the list. Usually, I'm in the middle and often at the bottom. 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