{"id":47743,"date":"2019-01-19T18:39:46","date_gmt":"2019-01-19T16:39:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=47743"},"modified":"2022-08-14T14:35:55","modified_gmt":"2022-08-14T11:35:55","slug":"we-are-all-of-us-mortal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/we-are-all-of-us-mortal\/","title":{"rendered":"We Are, All of Us, Mortal"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":50634,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[620,383],"acf":{"old_id":"47743","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":33992,"related_cahpter":"137","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"A lesson from the death of Aaron: Our gift and blessing is of the moment","content":"

I have just returned from celebrating my father\u2019s 90<\/span>th<\/span> birthday, on the eve of celebrating my own 6oth. Both events are extraordinary: few are the people who at age 60 can still speak with living parents, and many are the people who themselves never make it to age 60. In both counts, the blessing of genes, luck, modern medicine blend to create a moment that calls for special attention and some introspection.<\/span><\/p>\n

The death of Aaron the High Priest calls for similar pause and depth. As the children of Israel leave Kadesh and arrive at Mount Hor, God tells Moses that it is time: \u201cLet Aaron be gathered to his kin.\u2026 Strip Aaron of his vestments and put them on his son Eleazar. There Aaron shall be gathered and die there (Numbers 20: 24, 26).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, Aaron was without doubt a great leader and beloved priest. The entire people mourn for his passing for a full 30 days, and the Midrash reinforces that he was beloved not only of the powerful, but of every Israelite.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet even Aaron has to relinquish his office and titles, must transfer his power and pomp to a successor. Someone will literally wear his robes and speak his words. And if it be true for Aaron, then it is true for each of us. We are of the moment, a fleeting spark that illumines the instant and then the light fades.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mortality permeates our consciousness. We are aware that we are all on a one-way escalator that leads to aging and to death.<\/span><\/p>\n

The unique challenge and opportunity of this awareness is that it could drown us in despair and anomie, or it can be the goad to remind us that the time is short. If we are to make a mark, we must do so now. If we are to share love and pass it along, we must do so now.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our gift and blessing is of the moment. Aaron lived a full and rich life by staying present and by meeting each person, each occasion, as they were.<\/span><\/p>\n

We can use his memory to remind ourselves to do the same. Live today as a gift.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":76433,"id":76433,"title":"hos9-gift","filename":"hos9-gift.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos9-gift.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/hosea-the-party-pooper\/hos9-gift\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"hos9-gift","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":76432,"date":"2020-06-24 14:09:42","modified":"2022-08-14 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