Who Will Be For Me?
Jim Myers
I came across Rabbi Hillel’s famous saying today and I am always inspired by the profound wisdom it reveals. We all recognize the tensions revealed by Hillel in this short saying.
“If I am not for
myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now,
when? “
(1)
If I am not for myself, who will be for
me? -- The bottom line is that your life is in your own hands. Don’t expect
anyone else to do what needs to be done to make your life for you. When you encounter
opportunities, do what needs to be done yourself to make them realities. If you
don’t have opportunities – make your own! You must be for and take care of
yourself. Don’t wait for someone else to do what you know needs to be done now.
(2)
If I am not for others – This reminds
us that we are surrounded by others and what we do or do not do affect their
lives; just as what they do or do not do affect our lives. Think about how your
life is affected every day by the actions of others. What would you have to eat
today, if it were not for the actions of others? What would you be wearing
today, if it were not for the actions of others? What would you do when you
become ill, if it were not for the actions of others? Now think about how you
affect the lives of others in your family, at work, in your community, etc. No one else can be you to them. You are a very
important part of their lives.
(3)
what am I? – Life requires us to be
independent and interdependent. How we balance the two reveals “what” we are. If
we are only for ourselves we become completely selfish and lose touch with the
rest of the world and lose touch with life. But what if we are not for
ourselves and do not do what is best for ourselves? What if we just try to
please others and are never for ourselves? We also lose touch with life.
(4)
And if not now, when? – We cannot change
what has happened in the past or will happen in the future. Now is the only
moment we have to grab hold of life.
“Now, I will be
for myself and I will be for others, too. This is what am I.”