Although I am no Alexander the Great, when I set out to New York
from Montreal to be a journalist over 25 years ago, I too was ready to conquer
the world. Like a military general with a pushpin cork board, I plotted who I
wanted to meet, often via ambush, along with the implementation strategies to
secure an interview. Today, with eyes ever wiser, enlightened by my continual
Torah study and some abrasive life experiences, I question why I even cared at
all.
What does it really mean to conquer? Historically speaking, both
the conquered and the conquerors now lie in the dust. Today, my cover stories
of famous people are more ancient and irrelevant than a Roman war chariot. For
in today’s speedy world, yesterday’s news dies and decomposes while still in the
telling. And yet so often, I look to the contents of my weekly Torah blogs from
prior years for ideas, and they by contradistinction are everlasting.
Despite 3333 years of enemies and toxic distractions, the Torah can never
be vanquished nor rendered obsolete, for it is the Tree of Life--and all who
cling to it shall live.
Click here to watch Aliza's YouTube video on
Chayei Sarah
And then I think about the spirit of conquest
that possesses most of us at some point in our lives, whether one wants to be
the richest, the best looking, the most fit, the most popular, or the most
famous. And I must ask the same question I have often asked my interviewees:
Have you paid a price for your success? And the answer is invariably, “Yes.”
As we aim to conquer the worlds we respectively
find ourselves in, more often than not, it is we who take the
beating. There is always a price to pay. A war of attrition is launched against
our values, our upbringing, our religion, our innocence, our idealism. We find
too often that we have conquered the better parts of ourselves to “make it” in
this world which the Zohar calls alma d'shikra, “the world of
illusion”— “the world of lies.” And because we buy into the lie and the fake
gods it glamorizes, our actions become deceitful, distorted and vulgar thus
distancing us from truth of the Torah and the word of Hashem.
Indeed, we are meant to be conquerors; but we
have misused our charge. We are tasked with conquering our evil inclinations
and animal impulses and appropriating them to the service of G-d, turning
darkness into light. Humans walk upright (unlike the four-legged
kingdom), because our purpose is to set our sights high and
transcend the mundane roads we travel and the kiosks of sin and materialism we
encounter along the way. The Almighty sends us continual tests which we can use
to refine us and to redefine us. No moment is
trivial. Every moment is a war. If a person doesn’t conquer the moment by
making the right choices, the moment conquers him both physically and
spiritually.
Each moment also offers us not only the
opportunity to avert wrongdoing, but also to do good. Instead of throwing coins
into a wishing well, give charity. Instead of putting your extra money into
another stock, give charity. The ultimate return is much greater.
Instead of watching a marathon of Netflix
episodes, watch a Torah video.
Instead of gossiping and complaining endlessly,
pray and bless.
Instead of being filled with anger and fuming
over what the world owes you, be loving and question when was the last time you
did something for someone else, especially when it was hard and inconvenient to
do so?
In this week’s Torah reading, we read about the
death of our matriarch, Sarah. It is written by the biblical commentator,
Rashi, that she was as free from sin at the age of 100 as she was at 20.
Although she was exposed to many challenges and problems in life, she never
used them as excuses to spiral downward in life. She was very beautiful and was
abducted by both a Pharaoh and a king. She escaped both situations unscathed.
Sarah was the conqueror, strong and certain in her service of G-d. Her tent was
literally aglow with her greatness and moral perfection.
The life of Abraham too serves as a perfect
paradigm of righteous behavior. G-d instructed him to arise and leave his place
of birth. But the Hebrew words Lech Lecha translate as “go to
yourself.” Indeed, upon the physical journey, there were practical challenges
to conquer, but they mirrored the internal journey and were all whetstones to
achieve spiritual perfection. He passed all his tests and rose to the occasions
instead of letting them bring him down. He conquered the world with the word of
G-d, with kindness and compassion and never compromised his beliefs.
How will you conduct yourself upon the road of life?
What will you jettison to reach your destination: dignity? honesty? integrity? How
will you affect the people who come across your path? How will you make this
world a better place because you were in it? In what way do you reflect an
aspect of G-d? What do you leave in your wake? Darkness or light? Hate or love?
Jealousy or generosity? Dispute or peace?
Change your battlefields my friends and you too
can walk on holy ground.
Do you want to be a conqueror?
Start with conquering yourself, and to the
victor go the spoils.
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