Being Jewish - Fall 2000 - Count Your Change | It Is Never Too Late

The ESP of the
Jewish Way of Life

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Having a richer SPIRITUAL life.

This High Holy Days season we offer you these three short pieces from Dov Peretz Elkins’s book 40 Days of Transformation.We hope they will inspire you regardless of your level of faith, as you reflect on your past year and the new year to come.

Count Your Change*

by Rabbi Joseph Braver z’’l

The other day I ran into someone I hadn’t seen in several years. After a big hello and exchange of greetings about family, friends and health, the other person said to me,"You look great! You haven’t changed a bit!"

After we parted, I thought about what he’d said. I suppose he meant "You haven’t changed a bit" to be a compliment. That since the last time he’d seen me, my hair was no grayer, and that I seemed to be in pretty good shape both physically and mentally. I hadn’t changed a bit!

He meant it as a compliment, and I took it as one.

During the High Holy Days, I wonder if "You haven’t changed a bit" is a compliment.How does God see us today in comparison to last year? God would probably say to many of us:"You’re in bad shape.You haven’t changed a bit since last year."

In many stores, right near the cash register, there is a sign that reads: "Count Your Change Before Leaving." I think this reminder applies not only to cash.

Count your change is very good spiritual advice as well. Each of us should be able to list or count the ways in which we have changed for the better since last Yom Kippur.

As we approach the new Hebrew year, let us count our change on a regular basis. Let us make sure that when God sees us, we will hear, "You look great! You’ve changed a lot since last year."

Then we can look forward to a new year marked by further growth and greater understanding. A year in which we will be deserving of God’s blessings of contentment, good health, and nachas (fulfillment) for ourselves and our families.

*The three articles on these pages by Rabbi Joseph Braver, Dov Peretz Elkins, and Rabbi Harold Shulweis appear in 40 Days of Transformation. The Chasidic saying on the same page appears in Melodies From My Father’s House. Both books are edited and compiled by Dov Peretz Elkins. Visit his website, www.DPElkins.com, for more information.

"Better one
deed than
a thousand
sighs."

— Rabbi Shalom Dov Ber of Lubavitch

It Is Never Too Late*
by Rabbi Harold Schulweis

The last word has not been spoken,
the last sentence has not been written,
the final verdict is not in.

It is never too late
To change my mind,
My direction,
To say no to the past
And yes to the future
To offer remorse
To ask and give forgiveness.

It is never too late
To start over again,
To feel again
To love again
To hope again…

Making a Difference — One by One*
by Dov Peretz Elkins
As an old man walked by the beach at dawn, he noticed a young man ahead of him picking up starfish and flinging them into the sea. Finally catching up with the youth, he asked him why he was doing this.
   The answer was that the stranded starfish would die if left until the morning sun.
   "But the beach goes on for miles and there are millions of starfish," countered the old man. "How can your effort make any difference?"
   The young man looked at the starfish in his hand and then threw it to safety in the waves. "It makes a difference to this one."

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