Teaching Team
With a Little Help from My Friends
A while back, I read a paragraph in a book about the main difference between a rasha and a tzaddik. A rasha is a wicked person while a tzaddik is one who is righteous. The gist of the idea presented was that a rasha and a tzaddik both sin but a rasha simply lays down in surrender while the tzaddik gets back up and pushes forward.
Yesterday, I experienced a great illustration of this. After Shabbat Boaz and I agreed to run together on Sunday morning. Now, whereas I had started running only about three weeks ago, Boaz has been running for a couple of years. He met me along the road Sunday morning and asked me if I minded taking a different route. I said that was fine and we proceeded on the way.
About 3 miles into the run, I noticed we were nearing the worst hill in the area. The Springfield, MO area is full of hills but this one took the cake. I had driven up this hill many times listening to my car kick into low gear thinking I will never be able to run up it and now it was a few hundred feet away from my weary legs. On the way up the hill I was huffing and puffing but I was determined to conquer it. Every so often I would under my breath let out a little displeasure I had towards this mound of earth. I looked at Boaz so steadily pushing forward almost effortlessly. He had already run 8 miles before meeting me and surely this was easy for him. Then out of the blue he said very calmly, “I hate this hill.â€
When the run was done, I learned two things that I think are applicable to the above ideas of the rasha and the tzaddik. Firstly, just because someone is successful at something doesn’t mean it is easy for them. For us to reach a goal and to discipline our life spiritually takes work. On Sunday, that hill was difficult for both Boaz and I but yet, Boaz had the determination to beat it over and over again.
Secondly, I learned of the value of friends in taking us past our own limitations. Boaz would call me later that day to tell me that we had run almost six miles, which was two miles past my usual Sunday jog! It was amazing because despite this fact I felt great. We need to surround ourselves with people who will help us when we are about to fall spiritually and encourage us to fight and press on.
Elul, as we have noted, is a time of repentance. By the help of Heaven and perhaps with some friends too, we all have the opportunity to pull ourselves up from the ground and push forward towards righteousness.
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Visitor Feedback:
Toby,
That is the comfort this site and ministry provides to all of us. You, Boaz, Seth, Daniel, Amber...all of you, you are our running buddies. Running along side us every day helping us up our mountains. But hey Toby! Look at it this way, you could still be living in Colorado in the high altitude. Then how big would that hill have been? Keep up the good work my friend. And thanks for having us.
-Jay
**Toby's Reply: Thanks for the encouragement!
JAY | September 6, 2007 11:46 AM