This Wednesday is my birthday.
Please. No presents!
I recently found out that the famous scientist, Stephen Hawking, had the same birthday.
I was happy to hear that.
Until then I only knew of one famous person born on January 8th…
Elvis Presley!
… I wanted to share a cute story with you.
A story with a very powerful message.
Someone asked Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld of Jerusalem how old he was.
The Rabbi’s response?
“I don’t know”!
The person couldn’t believe it.
“Rabbi. You must be pulling my leg. How can you not know”!
(It’s not like Rabbi Sonnenfeld had a poor memory.
He did manage to memorize the entire Shas!)
The Rabbi explained.
“If you buy something in a store and they give you change?
You count it to make sure it’s right.
But if someone gives you a present?
You don’t count it. It’s just not nice.”
And the Rabbi continued.
“Every year of life is a special gift from G-d.
So I don’t count it”!
… A very Jewish perspective on life!
I don’t think we’re quite on the level of that great Rabbi.
We all know how old we are.
And some of us may wish we didn’t know!
But we should all remember the story.
To remind us of the gift of life!
