Rabbi's Musings

The famous 20th-century composer and author Ned Rorem tells of his first visit to Alice B. Toklas’ home after Gertrude Stein’s death. At her home, he noticed on the wall two remarkable Picassos with which he was not familiar. He expressed his admiration. Miss Toklas thoughtfully said, “Yes, Gertrude always used to say, ‘if the house were on fire, and I could only take one picture, it would be those two.’”

Most of us don’t have Gertrude Stein’s sensibility, so unlike her, we would have to choose one over the other. But that’s life, making choices and establishing priorities.

As we prepare for the holiday of Sukkot, we are reminded to be grateful for life’s simple pleasures. Joy in simplicity is a priority. Sitting outside is a simple hut; that’s what life is supposed to be about.

A father once said of his teenage daughter: She’s a good student, but she is constantly majoring in the minors. In other words, she is concerned with the trivial and not with the great issues of the day. The same could be said of us all too often. What are our priorities? How do we really spend our time, not to mention our money?
 
On Sukkot we read from the book of Ecclesiastes, which declares, “The heart of the wise inclines to the right but the heart of the fool to the left.” (Eccl. 10:2) The Midrash interprets this to mean that a wise person favors Torah, or learning, over materialistic success. So, remember to embrace the simple things during the week ahead and beyond.