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Shareאַבְרָהָם תָּבַע זִקְנָה, אָמַר לְפָנָיו רִבּוֹן הָעוֹלָמִים אָדָם וּבְנוֹ נִכְנָסִין לְמָקוֹם וְאֵין אָדָם יוֹדֵעַ לְמִי מְכַבֵּד, מִתּוֹךְ שֶׁאַתָּה מְעַטְּרוֹ בְּזִקְנָה אָדָם יוֹדֵעַ לְמִי מְכַבֵּד. אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא חַיֶּיךָ דָּבָר טוֹב תָּבַעְתָּ וּמִמְּךָ הוּא מַתְחִיל.
Avraham asked for ziknah (old age).
He said to God: Master of the World, when a person and their child enter a place, we don’t know whom to honor. But if You crown a person with ziknah (by making them look old), then we’ll know whom to honor.
The Holy Blessed One said to him: This is a good thing you are requesting. It will begin with you.
רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בַר יְהוּדָה אִישׁ כְּפַר הַבַּבְלִי אוֹמֵר, הַלּוֹמֵד מִן הַקְּטַנִּים לְמַה הוּא דוֹמֶה, לְאֹכֵל עֲנָבִים קֵהוֹת וְשׁוֹתֶה יַיִן מִגִּתּוֹ. וְהַלּוֹמֵד מִן הַזְּקֵנִים לְמַה הוּא דוֹמֶה, לְאֹכֵל עֲנָבִים בְּשֵׁלוֹת וְשׁוֹתֶה יַיִן יָשָׁן
He who learns from the young, to what is he compared? To one who eats unripe grapes, and drinks wine from his vat; And he who learns from the old, to what is he compared? To one who eats ripe grapes, and drinks old wine.
Elderhood is a time of unparalleled inner growth
having evolutionary significance in this era of
world-wide cultural transformation.
It is a call from the future,
a journey for the health and survival
of our ailing planet Earth.
A person has to be serious about wanting to harvest a lifetime. Most people are depressed when they get old because they have nothing to look forward to. And people are not wanting to face their mortality. So there is homework. You can’t become an elder without doing the homework.
אוֹתָם וְאֶת בֵּיתָם וְאֶת זַרְעָם וְאֶת כָּל אֲשֶׁר לָהֶם, אוֹתָנוּ וְאֶת כָּל אֲשֶׁר לָנוּ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּרְכוּ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיַעֲקֹב בַּכֹּל מִכֹּל כֹּל – כֵּן יְבָרֵךְ אוֹתָנוּ כֻּלָּנוּ יַחַד בִּבְרָכָה שְׁלֵמָה. וְנֹאמַר: אָמֵן.
Them, their household, their children and all that is theirs, us and all that is ours, just as our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were blessed with everything, from everything, everything, so too may He bless all of us together with a complete blessing, and let us say Amen.
Abraham teaches us about the awakening and insight mindfulness affords us. Even as forgetfulness forever pulls us towards worldliness and materialism, an awakened mind sees the world as it is: continually renewed, engaging us in its marvelous and enduring unfolding. We can be ba b'yamim, bring each day to awareness, when we remember that the everyday "stuff" is actually the stuff of miracles.
Once or twice in a lifetime
A man or woman may choose
A radical leaving, having heard
Lech l’cha –
Go forth.
God disturbs us toward our destiny
By hard events
And by freedom’s now urgent voice
Which explode and confirm who we are.
We don’t like leaving
But God loves becoming.
–– Rabbi Norman Hirsch