Said to Myself

In the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo we read,

And it shall be, when you come in unto the land which the Lord your Gcd has given you for an inheritance, and possess it, and dwell therein;  that you shall take of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you shall bring in from your land that the Lord your Gcd has given you…(Deuteronomy 26:1-2)

On the eve of finishing their 40-year journey in the desert and actually starting their real lives, being a people in a land, Moses instructs the people to give of their first fruits. They have not even received the land from Gcd, and they are already informed that they will have give away the fruit of their labor on that land. What is the meaning of this gift?

It is through the process of gift giving which we can come to recognize the myriad of gifts that we have received to get us to that point. We are not simply here due to our own design.

As the aphorism goes, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” While my eldest child is about to start Kindergarten, my newest child is about to spend her first Shabbat on this planet with her family. It is never too early to think about what our life will look like during the next stage. What will be our contribution to the world? How will we live our lives on purpose? Even sharing our aspirations for the gifts you hope to share with the world is a wonderful step towards responding to the people who helped you get to where you are today.

To this, I want to thank my wife who has brought three extraordinary children into this world. While her labor is over, our labor together is just beginning. Adina is an amazing mother and inspires me everyday to be a better father. I am confident that we will prepare our children to be a gift to the world.