I had the opportunity recently to enjoy getting to know a couple who have lived their entire life in a very small town in Iowa. Very, very nice people. Mid-seventies, married almost 60 years; he was a lineman for the power company and she did daycare in her home and took in ironing. You just can't get more salt of the earth than that.
Chazal tell us that even though there is no Torah among the nations, there is wisdom. In fact, there is a Torah obligation to stand when anyone over 70 -- Jew or non-Jew -- walks into the room. Chazal explain that even without Torah, someone who has lived that long has seen miracles and has thereby achieved some measure of wisdom. My ears therefore really perked up when she said that there was something she had a lesson from her parents that needed to be shared with the younger generation.
Her older sisters had been born during the Great Depression (she had been born during WWII). During the war, in a beautiful (to my mind) show of patriotic unity, families were issued ration books. (I actually saw one of those books that my own grandparents had stuck up in their attic; a treasure trove of memorabilia for my 10 year old boy self.) Many staples were rationed; sugar, cooking oil, meat, etc. Her sisters (who were old enough to remember that epoch), told her that their parents used to drink coffee with sugar and cream. With rationing, one had to be creative and conservative about meal planning. They realized that by drinking their coffee with just cream, they would be able to have enough sugar to make a few extra cookies or a cake. Fine; coffee with just cream it was. As money was very tight, they realized that they could sell that cream instead of putting it into their coffee and have a bit more to eat. Fine; black coffee it was.
That was the lesson she wanted to impart to the younger generation. I am not sure why she decided to say that over, but I am very glad she did. I started thinking... how much sugar are we discussing? At the most it couldn't have been more than a few teaspoons per day. How much cream? Again, a few ounces each day; at the most. And that made enough difference in their lives and the lives of their children, that our delightful guest wanted to share that experience with the world.
Then I started thinking more... The nations have wisdom, but they do not have Torah. We have Torah. The great Chafeitz Chaim used to say that America has it backwards. They say, "time is money." But the truth is just the opposite: money is time. When you have money, you can then devote time to Torah and mitzvos.
Baruch HaShem; we live in very wealthy times in a very wealthy country, indeed. We think nothing of spending several dollars to have a barista custom craft a beverage with coffee, cream, sugar, and flavorings; some consider it even a bare necessity. However, our time is no less rationed today than it ever was. In fact, we have so many pulls on our time, that time itself has become recognizably a very precious commodity.
If redirecting a few teaspoons of sugar and a few ounces of cream can make an impression for generations... just imagine what redirecting even a few seconds a day to Torah and mitzvos can mean!
Chazal tell us that even though there is no Torah among the nations, there is wisdom. In fact, there is a Torah obligation to stand when anyone over 70 -- Jew or non-Jew -- walks into the room. Chazal explain that even without Torah, someone who has lived that long has seen miracles and has thereby achieved some measure of wisdom. My ears therefore really perked up when she said that there was something she had a lesson from her parents that needed to be shared with the younger generation.
Her older sisters had been born during the Great Depression (she had been born during WWII). During the war, in a beautiful (to my mind) show of patriotic unity, families were issued ration books. (I actually saw one of those books that my own grandparents had stuck up in their attic; a treasure trove of memorabilia for my 10 year old boy self.) Many staples were rationed; sugar, cooking oil, meat, etc. Her sisters (who were old enough to remember that epoch), told her that their parents used to drink coffee with sugar and cream. With rationing, one had to be creative and conservative about meal planning. They realized that by drinking their coffee with just cream, they would be able to have enough sugar to make a few extra cookies or a cake. Fine; coffee with just cream it was. As money was very tight, they realized that they could sell that cream instead of putting it into their coffee and have a bit more to eat. Fine; black coffee it was.
That was the lesson she wanted to impart to the younger generation. I am not sure why she decided to say that over, but I am very glad she did. I started thinking... how much sugar are we discussing? At the most it couldn't have been more than a few teaspoons per day. How much cream? Again, a few ounces each day; at the most. And that made enough difference in their lives and the lives of their children, that our delightful guest wanted to share that experience with the world.
Then I started thinking more... The nations have wisdom, but they do not have Torah. We have Torah. The great Chafeitz Chaim used to say that America has it backwards. They say, "time is money." But the truth is just the opposite: money is time. When you have money, you can then devote time to Torah and mitzvos.
Baruch HaShem; we live in very wealthy times in a very wealthy country, indeed. We think nothing of spending several dollars to have a barista custom craft a beverage with coffee, cream, sugar, and flavorings; some consider it even a bare necessity. However, our time is no less rationed today than it ever was. In fact, we have so many pulls on our time, that time itself has become recognizably a very precious commodity.
If redirecting a few teaspoons of sugar and a few ounces of cream can make an impression for generations... just imagine what redirecting even a few seconds a day to Torah and mitzvos can mean!
Comments