Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel taught:
It takes three things to attain a sense of significance: God, A Soul, And a Moment.
These three thigns are always here. Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy.
It is with this text in mind that I read the following inspiring article form Elisha Wiesel, the son of Eli Wiesel, on the one year anniversary of his death. I encourage you to read it carefully. There is great wisdom here, though it can be very hard to follow on a daily basis. Enjoy.
Elie Wiesel’s Son On His Rebellion, And His Father’s Love- Elisha Wiesel
Just be.”
As the cancer progressed with episodic violence, and my father came closer to his end, I would often ask what I could do for him. And, smiling, he would hold my hand and look into my eyes and say: “Just be.”
Nothing more than that. There were no more requests. No message he needed me to deliver, no instruction he needed me to absorb. Now the only thing he wanted to convey was his love for me, and his faith in the direction I would take my life. He wanted me to understand what my existence meant to him, not the concept of a son, but the actual me, the good and the bad and the imperfect and flawed, the whole package. “Just be.”
My education from my father had begun at an early age. When I was only a few years old, he followed the instructions, as best he could, of rabbinic sages who said parents must teach their children to swim. Though my father could not swim, and my mother was terrified anytime he went near a pool, he arranged for instruction for me. His educational demands had been more specific some 30 years ago, though with no less love and confidence in me. “Be a good student,” he said. “Be a good son. Be a good Jew.”
As a young adult, I did the opposite. I raged against my school, against my parents and against my tradition. My father was ill-equipped to explain the rules of modern adolescence, and I raged against myself. His love seemed too heavy to bear, the confidence he had in me grievously misplaced.
There is a chasidic story of the Baal Shem Tov, who was once approached by a chasid, bemoaning how far his son had strayed. The rebbe’s surprising answer: Love your son more….
