Blogger: Gregory Metzger

I was moved to read the beautiful piece on aging by the lovely and talented Judith light. [Read it HERE]  Her description of aging as “surrendering” got me thinking about aging, a topic I studiously avoid.

As I “grow up”, I realize more and more that “surrender” is not resignation and defeat, but, rather it is the act of abandoning the immature ideas and ideals of youth for the “old”, “tried and true” ideals of our ancestors and their traditions.  Surrender, in fact, is “joining with the winners”.  At best, we age gracefully by perceiving “…the events at the end of time with exultant certainty,…. by surrender of selfish pettiness and by consecration to the great destiny of life…”

Making offerings, being of service and supporting the most vulnerable in our society are the ideas and ideals that emerge as we surrender the selfish “me first” desires that Torah teaches are an “evil” that is residue from youth

As we age, it seems we become caricatures of our selves: our essence is distorted as our most prominent features become inflated.  The parts of us that stood out the most, our core character traits are wildly exaggerated.  Our faces become the canvas of our inner selves – Sometimes funny, sometimes ugly, sometimes beautiful.

Last October, Judith Light had a caricature unveiled at Sardis (http://www.judithlight.com/).   A beautiful reflection of the woman she has surrendered to being: Clear, bright, focused and serious eyes, set upon a sweet face with a light smile.

Elul as a messenger, tells us it is time to once again look at our character traits and re-commit to expressing our real essence, to connecting the pure soul within.  By engaging in acts of justice and loving-kindness we participate in the “art” of aging with grace and with beauty.

 

1 Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Confrontation from Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Thought, 1964 volume 6, #2 
2 Genesis 8:21
 
Gregory Metzger is a co-leader of Kihilanu, a new and exciting independent minyan.  He teaches T’shuvah, Torah and Tefillah to inmates of seven jails and five prisons in California.  He is a rabbinical student at AJR-CA.