Vampire Weekend's Surprising Jewish Stories
4 min read
Choosing life isn’t so obvious. Here’s a practical tool just in time for Rosh Hashanah.
Choose life.
That ubiquitous phrase plastered on t-shirts and Instagram posts comes from the Torah portion that is read before Rosh Hashanah: “I have placed before you life and death, blessing and curse; choose life!” (Deut. 30:20).
But who needs to be told to choose life? Faced with the choice between blessing and curse, life and death, do you really need God to tell you what choice to make?
Apparently you do. Here’s why.
Since God is Infinite, He has no needs. He is one and complete, without lack. Therefore He gets nothing out of creating the universe. He doesn’t need the ego stroke when we pray to Him. Life is a gift for us, not Him. And it’s a gift that is perfectly altruistic, in a manner that our finite minds can’t really fathom, because no matter how selfless we are, we always get something in return. We get the pleasure and deep-seated satisfaction that comes through giving.
So God wants us to have ultimate pleasure and meaning. We are pleasure-meaning- fulfillment seekers. It’s built into the very fiber of our being. Everything we do stems from our drive to attain some kind of fulfillment and satisfaction.
But if we are hard-wired to pursue pleasure and meaning, how could anyone choose the opposite and engage in actions that lead to emptiness, dissatisfaction and destruction?
Because we also have a lower part of us that tries to seduce us into doing things that ultimately go against our best interest. This baser self is a genius at subterfuge, selling us short-term glitz that masks the negative consequences that are sure to follow. So our lizard brain tells us, “You need to unwind, all this stress isn’t good for you. So smoke that joint, drink that wine, binge-watch that Neftlix series. You know that’s what you want…” We get confused and seduced, and settle for counterfeit pleasures that in the end leave us feeling deflated, numb and worthless.
Evil gets rationalized. A curse presents itself as a blessing, and instead of choosing life, we are tempted to choose death. The Freudian death wish was succinctly stated in the Talmud: “A person’s evil inclination overcomes him each day and seeks to kill him” (Sukkot 52b).
We get confused and succumb to the clutches of comfort and escape from pain, forfeiting the real pleasures that only come through hard-earned effort.
So God instructs us: Choose life! Cut through the confusion and don’t get sucked in by the counterfeit pleasure that is offering you nothing but escape and emptiness, a suicide in installments.
On Rosh Hashanah, we plead to God, “Remember us for life!” We want to be sealed in the Book of Life, to make the choices that will yield real meaning and fulfillment. Rabbi Noah Weinberg would often say, “The battle for life is the battle for sanity.” Don’t allow yourself to get confused and fall down that rabbit hole. One of your most effective weapons in the battle to choose life is clarity. Unmask the confusion and see it for what it really is: a death trap.
A friend recently sent me this list of daily reminders, written by Greg Isenberg, co-founder/CEO of Late Checkout. I thought it was a powerful tool to get clarity and not to allow our lower selves to get us off track. Greg masterfully captures some of the daily choices we are faced with, articulating the two opposing sides, the life and the death, the blessing and the curse.
The first step in battle is to know your enemy. Realize what you’re up against and attain the clarity to make healthy, productive choices. Greg’s list can help you increase your awareness:
I came up with a few of my own and suggest you add yours to the list:
Shana tova. May God bless you with a year full of good health, joy and clarity to consistently choose life.
Thank you- just read this and will send to others. Excellent!
At 71, I needed to have this told to me. So, it's never too late to fix what has been broken for decades. Thank you.
As simple as awesome, Thanks.
absolutely brilliant - Wisdom from above
Amen! Wonderful!
How simple, but brilliant these lists are. Thank you!
Behold, I have laid before you life and good, and death and evil.” [Deut. 30:19]. And that is the choice we have every day at every moment of the day. This choice is free will – bechirah. And furthermore we have no free will in it, even though we think so. Because everything is determined by basjamaim: where you are born, healthy or sick, male or female, whom you marry, how many children, your income, where you works, how long you work there, everything.So everything is determined except the choice of life or death.
Changing behavior is not that easy. The goal is admirable but achieving is difficult. Religion is limited in achieving change. The article will have very little impact on those who read it just as the holidays have little impact.
The impact depends on the recipient not the source.
Just because something is not easy to achieve does not mean one should not make an effort.
The belief in a son of g-d - is shattered when one reads through G-D's written Torah - and the Prophets - in the ORIGINAL NOT MODIFIED Language of Hebrew. G-D - said - In Deu: 4 - 36-39 “There is NONE beside HIM! Isaiah - Chap 43 10/11 - repeats this. And in Chap 44 - 6. - Chap 45 - 5/6 - 14/19/21-22 - Chap 46 - 9. 48 - 12 - Chap. 51 - 12.Chap 13 4-6 - we are not to follow prophets/dreamers to worship other g-d’s - only HIM! ** Note “HIM” is singular - NOT _ a PLURAL deity or other deity!
In Deu: 5-7 - Do not recognize the g-ds of others in His presence. G-D doesn't lie.
A truly great essay. One comment, I believe that Hashem does care about the choices we make.
Karla wrote just what I was going to say. I will add another " Thank you" !!
This is a useful and helpful message, but I think the lizard brain analogy, while descriptive, is a poor one. Lizards do not have a death wish. Maybe in a future article you will expand on the death wish theme. I'd like to know more about it. Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova.
I loved this message...simple and practical and life giving! Thank you.
Will post Greg's and Rabbi's lists to my fridge. I need at least a few of these suggestions every day. Thanks.
Moralistic claptrap, to wit: "Baser self?" "Counterfeit pleasures" [leading to] "suicide in installments?" Ha-Shem doesn't want me to "smoke that joint" or "drink that wine." Yeah, sure. You're attempting to utilize a certain, pleasure-denying interpretation of Judaism to justify your own puritanical philosophy - and it's neither intellectually honest nor tenable for many of us.
Sure, all those who don't choose life (in its fullest sense) think like you.
Hope you realize you have your own particular biases, as we all do.
Consider that choosing life suggests getting out of your rut and opening yourself to a different perspective!
I agree that we all have biases but disagree that enjoying various and sundry everyday pleasures is inconsistent in any sense with "choosing life...in its fullest sense." And if there are "ruts" - I'd posit that denying oneself enjoyment (food, drink, cannabis - whatever) in the name of "holiness" is as much a "rut" as any other. But to each his own.
Nevertheless some supporting data from addiction studies.
Great article. I agree with most of it (not that that matters) - except for one important point. Death doesn’t have to be a trap, it can be a release. No, I’m not suicidal. If I was, I’d be dead by now.
L’shana Tovah
The Evil Spirits - whom we are almost totally unaware of - and who have free access to our spirit and thoughts - work full time 24/7 causing - wreaking as much havoc & confusion in our spiritual lives as possible. Apparently - without impunity! Meanwhile -overwhelmed in confusion and fear - or help especially from mankind - we have to know to ask - search - & wait for YOU - our G-D to send help. So - I pray and ask G-D - Where can I go - to truly find myself spiritually - mentally - emotionally - physically - especially - in my relationship with you? How will I know - when in all these - that I’ve truly found myself?