Strength is measured in many different ways. We know that the term strength is usually reserved for the hardy and youthful. Age often brings with it infirmity, ailment, and a diminution of the virility that marked earlier years. And yet we know old people who are powerhouses of strength. They continually move, seek, laugh, learn and teach. We also are familiar with young people who have no enthusiasm for life. We would not call them strong. So, what is strength if not measured by years?
Another definition, posed by the Talmud, asks, "'Who is strong?' One who is able to control their yetser (desire)." Avot 4:1 In the opinion of the Talmud, strength is found in the resilience to resist temptation. There is great wisdom in this statement. Perhaps then strength has nothing to do with one's age and everything to do with what goes on inside a person.
In psalms is an oft misquoted verse, "They will go from strength to strength." The verse is usually employed as a blessing to those who have labored hard for some cause. What is missing from the quote is the last part of the verse,"…toward the God of Zion." Psalms 84:8
What the psalmist was telling his vast and timeless audience was that only with God in mind do our purposeful actions make us more powerful. Everything needs t be for the sake of God. Or as one of the old hasidim said to a young man who asked him, "Shall I hold this heavy Torah for you?" who replied, "You are mistaken. You think I am holding the Torah? You are wrong. The Torah is holding me."
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