|
Jewish World Review Sept. 16, 1998 / 25 Elul, 5758
Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz
Mediocrity is not an option
WE ALL THINK WE'RE EXPERTS on the topic of sin. We don't need
definitions of what sin is; we know it when we see it.
Sin, many of us believe, is doing what our mothers tell us not to do. Sin is what those TV preachers talk about on Sunday mornings. Sin is the subplot of our favorite soap opera.
While these may be good examples of sin, our overall definition of sin is
often cartoonish and one-dimensional. We may know a lot about sins that
are bad actions; however, we know very little about sins that are bad
attitudes.
There is a story told about the late dean of Yeshivas Chaim Berlin, Rav
Yitzchak Hutner, ZT"L. He asked one of his students to choose which are the
worst two sins in the Torah. The student thought for a while, and gave
an answer. Rav Hutner rejected the answer, and the student thought about
the question again and came back with a different answer. Again, Rav
Hutner rejected the answer. This cycle repeated itself several times,
until Rav Hutner told the curious student: "The two greatest sins in the
world are mediocrity and foolishness."
What an insightful answer! Often we lose sight of the connection between
our attitudes and our actions, our feelings and our failings. Most of
our shortcomings can be traced to these two cardinal sins, the sin of
foolishness and the sin of mediocrity.
Of these two, it is the sin of mediocrity that interests me at the
moment. Is it wrong if someone chooses to take it easy? Must we all be
dynamic, type-A strivers?
In short, the answer to these two questions, is yes. Yes, it is wrong to
be complacent. Yes, we must constantly strive for spiritual growth. The
great Talmudic sage, Rabbi Hillel said that we must either "grow or die" (Pirkei Avos 1:13).
Life is a precious gift, intended to be used to the fullest. If we
refuse to improve ourselves, if we settle for mediocrity, we become one
of the living dead, a person who is squandering the gift of life.
With this insight, we get a better understanding of repentance.
Repentance is not merely a response to sin, but rather a war against
mediocrity. It is the process of changing attitudes, of no longer
accepting the status quo. Repentance demands spiritual growth and
improvement, no matter what level a person is at.
It is for this reason that Maimonides (The Laws of Repentance 3:4) compares the shofar
blast to a wake up call, telling the slumbering ones to awake.
Throughout the year, we live with the status quo, sleepwalking through
our daily routines. The period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is a
time when we wake up from bad habits and stale routines, and reach for
greatness. To live with the status quo is to live with mediocrity.
And mediocrity isn't an
option.
JWR contributor Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz is the spiritual leader of Congregation Tifereth Beth David Jerusalem near Montreal.