Summary: <p>One of the most evocative figures in the Torah does not get much attention because</p> <p>his brief appearance is embedded in a dry genealogy. His name is Methuselah.</p> <p><em>When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he begot Lamech. After the birth of Lamech,</em></p> <p><em>Methuselah lived 782 years and begot sons and daughters. All the days of Methuselah</em></p> <p><em>came to 969 years; then he died. (Genesis 5:25-27).</em></p> <p>Methuselah is famous for two things. He lived the longest of any biblical figure. Moses</p> <p>lived until 120, Methuselah until 969. But Methuselah is known for nothing beyond his length of years. If he touched somebody’s life, if he made the world better, if he inspired love, the Torah contains no record of it.</p> <p>By contrast, the composer Jonathan Larson, most famous for writing the musical <em>Rent </em>and dying at the age of 35 the night of its first performance, inspired this gorgeous song from <em>Rent, </em>sung by Leslie Odom, Jr. called <em>Without You. </em>(Click <a href="https://vimeo.com/761974578/68c92b886a" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for the video) The thesis is: life goes on, as it must, without you, but I am not the same without you because of the deep impact you have had on me. (Click <a href="https://files.constantcontact.com/d3875897501/403fc904-11e4-4f6e-9c8b-e734c660cdb4.pdf?rdr=true" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for lyrics)</p> <p>We have just left the High Holiday season with its message that we do not get to control how much time we have, we can only control what we do with the time we’ve got. We are now entering a month without holidays, a season of ordinary days. The most important question for us all: what do we do with our ordinary days that turn them into days of impact? What are we doing that can inspire the love of the song <em>Without You?</em> Who will sing that song for us, and what have we done to earn that song? In his classic <em>When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough, </em>Harold Kushner lays out three things we can do every day (Click <a href="https://files.constantcontact.com/d3875897501/8322c305-2676-4527-8b4e-3b01f40c859e.pdf?rdr=true" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for text). Hopefully, that will not be our question until 120. But asking that question now can invest our years with their greatest joy, blessing, and impact.</p>
