Skip to main content

Aspire and Do

n’gad shma, avad shma

“A name made great is a name destroyed.”

  -Avot 1:13

 

Why would this be?  How is it possible that the famous are destroyed?  After all, they are followed by the paparazzi.  They are celebrated and followed on twitter and instagram.  Their clothes and hairstyles are imitated.

Yet, the Mishna is telling us something far deeper than surface fame.  Fame fades.  The camera swivels and catches someone else doing something more daring or being more captivating.  And it is gone.  Now we feel worse than when we first sought notoriety.

Aspiring to possess a great name comes at a Faustian price.  We forfeit the ability to do good deeds unnoticed.  We are no longer capable of hearing the inner voice of righteousness but only the one that seeks and hears the applause.

Follow the path of integrity, modesty.  Do good and you will be great.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Contact

“Between 1305 and the early 1800’s. the House of Taxis ran a form of pony express service all over Europe….   Its couriers clad in blue and silver uniforms, crisscrossed the continent carrying messages between princes and generals, merchants and money lenders.” –Alvin Toffler, The Third Wave We may think we are the first generation consumed by rapid communication but we are not.   Throughout our history it has been a priority. Of course, now in the 21 st century we must ask: are we better or worse for it?
1 comment
Read more

Speech

  “To say the right thing at the right time, keep still most of the time.”     John W. Roper Those who get in trouble most often are those cannot seem to keep still, remain silent.  Life teaches many lessons.  Among the best lessons of life is one my father taught me at an early age was, “If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing.” The contributions we make to life via our mouth are many and varied.  Most of the time, I reckon, they are not contributions at all, but things that diminish the richness of life.    
Post a Comment
Read more

The Price of Misjudgment

“If a man does not judge himself, all things judge him, and all things become messengers of God.” – Nachman of Bratslav ”If I do not accept responsibility for the evil I do, the very earth will rise up to judge and condemn me. The stars, the trees in the wind will provide sentence…”   -Julius Lester
Post a Comment
Read more