* Translated by Janine Muller Sherr
Do we truly value our time?
In last week’s parasha (Shoftim), we read about the “accidental murderer,” a person who unintentionally causes another person’s death.
Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, one of the founding leaders of the Chasidic movement, explains that if a person does not attend to the important things in life, in other words, if he wastes his time—he is considered an “accidental murderer” because he is “killing” the precious life that was granted him. Instead of taking advantage of every moment, he is creating more and more “dead” time by wasting it. But if a person dedicates his time to pursuing meaningful goals and worthwhile projects, he is essentially earning more life by making the most of the life he was given.
We often speak about relationships “bein adam la’makom”—between man and God, and “bein adam l’chaveiro”—between man and his fellow man. But we need to pay more attention to our relationship with time and today, even more importantly, to our relationship with our phones and devices. How much time are we spending endlessly scrolling on our phones— without even being aware of it— and then regretting all the time we have wasted?
Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk calls on us to pay attention to how we relate to the time we have, especially during the month of Elul. At every moment, we are given the opportunity to decide whether to “kill” the time we have or to “bring it to life.”
May we merit taking full advantage of our time by filling it with light, abundance, and holiness.
