23 September 2011
Question
We Jews are funny. The new year is the most solemn day of the year. No firecrackers or all night parties, just praying. Where's the fun? Shouldn't new years be a reason to party, and not be so serious?
Answer
Your question was answered for me by a traffic light in Downtown Brooklyn.
New York is famous for its swarms of pedestrians crossing the street, often ignoring the lights and oblivious to oncoming cars. Not only will people start crossing when the lights are already flashing red, but even when the red hand stops flashing and sternly warns them to stop, they will start dashing across en masse, blocking traffic and risking their own lives.
So the City of New York is trying a new antidote to kamikaze crossers. At certain busy intersections when the light starts to flash red, at the same time a number is displayed right next to the red light, counting down the seconds that remain before the cars will get their green light. The crossers now know exactly how long they have to .make a dash.
It seems to work. Tension is built by this dramatic count down. You feel as if you are passing over the track of a grand prix just before the starter shoots the gun, or walking the streets of Spain moments before the bulls are about to be released. If you see you have three seconds to cross a wide street, you may think twice before making a suicidal dash.
The funny thing is, this system is not so different to the usual way traffic signals work. You always get a warning when the light flashes red. The difference is, here you know exactly how long you have. Every second is accounted for.
How different would we live our lives if we knew exactly how long we have? How much more urgently would we rush to do good if we could actually see the seconds ticking away? How much less time would we waste on foolishness if we could see that every moment is numbered? Moses said it like this: "Teach us to number our days, so that we may acquire a heart of wisdom." (Psalms 90:12)
We have entered the last week of the Jewish year. Next week is Rosh Hashanah. A year gone by, another one about to arrive. The clock is ticking away. We have far to go, and precious little time to get there. Maybe now is a good time to start taking life a little seriously...
