This Sunday we continue our exploration of this month’s theme by reflecting on whether our lives and truths — finding the center we seek — are representative of who we would wish to be. We take as our jumping off point the story told by philosopher Martin Buber about the great Hasidic Rabbi Zusya of Hanipol. The story goes that when he was near death he began to weep uncontrollably, and those around him sought to comfort him by reminding him that he’d been almost as wise as Moses and almost as hospitable as Abraham — knowing this, he could clearly anticipate a favorable reception in heaven when the time came. He replied that he was not concerned with answering questions from God about why he was not more like Moses or Abraham — those questions he had easy answers for. What concerned him, he said, was “What will I say when God asks me, ‘Zusya, why were you not more like Zusya?'”

 

UUSMV OOS for January 15, 2023