By Rabbi Koval
Question: Ask any parent what he wants most for his children.
Answer? He wants them to be happy.
Forget about our kids, WE just want to be happy. What is happiness? That's easy; it's a feeling, an emotion that we all recognize when it's there. So what does it take to get it? Ah. THAT is the big question.
In truth, we all know the answer to this question. It is through appreciating the gifts that we ALREADY possess: our health, our families, our faith, our freedom, our homes, cars, clothes, central a/c... the list goes on and on.
So why aren't we happy? What is about us humanoids? Why do we take everything for granted? I posed this question to our men's Torah study group at the JCC this past week. Together we learned about how Pharaoh meets Jacob for the first time and asks him his age. Jacob answers: "I know that I seem older than I really am, but it's because I've had a hard life. My brother tried to kill me, my father-in-law cheated me, my son disappeared, and my daughter was kidnapped."
The Midrash teaches us that Jacob's response ended up being an indictment against him. God felt that while all the above was true, a tzadik [righteous person] of Jacob's stature should have focused on the positive things in his life: his health, his homeland, his family, and now his reunion with his beloved son Joseph.
Torah is eternal. It's talking to us. Today. Reminding us of the all-so-important message: appreciate what you have. I was reminded of this message this week when I had the privilege to perform a bris on a six-month-old boy who has already gone through what most people never experience in their entire lives. Six major surgeries on his brain, stomach, chest, and more. When I opened his outfit and saw the multiple surgical scars, I reminded myself how fortunate we truly are, for each healthy child in our family, and for all of the gifts in our lives.
So why are we hardwired to always forget this lesson and take everything for granted? After all, we know in our hearts that this is the key to the elusive goal of happiness for which we are all searching. Researching the answer to this question was the homework for all six of us who attended the class this week. Would you like to answer? Men: come on Tuesday morning to find out! 7:00 am at the JCC. Can't make the class? Share your answer by commenting below.