THE PASSOVER FLAME OF DUTY

Between working, raising a family, volunteering, and trying to spend some time relaxing, many of us may feel like we have full lives. We may feel like our life is consumed with all these activities, and it actually is.  I heard a proverb once, ‘If you want something done, ask a busy person. Only a busy person recognizes the importance of doing things right now!’.

As we quickly approach the season of Passover, I am reminded of such a person; a person who was not afraid to be consumed by a life of responsibilities, some self-imposed, some imposed by Divine Mandate. I remember this lonely shepherd tending to his father-law’s sheep in the desert. In the distance, he sees a flame on the mountainside. It was a strange flame as whereas it burned vivaciously, it did not consume its bushy host. The curious shepherd approaches it.

A discussion ensues between the ‘flame’ and the bewildered shepherds. What could it want from him? Why did this fiery host attract his attention? Soon, our faithful sheep watcher and guide would get the assignment of a lifetime. While the fiery host did not consume the bush, it would consume the shepherd till its dying day.

How true it is that a faithful man, a man of integrity will often find himself consumed by the objects of his devotion, whether it be working to keep a roof over his family, raising children, volunteering, or all of the above.

On the other hand, some of us may fe+el at times as if we were in a lonely desert taking care of other people’s goods, but at any given  moment, our path may take us to encounter the flame of duty. While its call may seem all-consuming, may we remember that the value of a life is not in how much is gathered but in how much is given, and that the eyes of the Eternal Judge do not even look at what we give, but rather at what we have left once we are done giving.