Throughout the year, readers of the Roar Post have been encouraged to embrace learning and growth. An emphasis has been placed on engaging in meaningful introspection regarding goals for the future and deeply analyzing mistakes made in the past, both of which ultimately help individuals become more self-aware and better prepared to grow and improve.
But the success of these strategies is predicated on something integral for bona fide growth: sticking to one’s values. To have a vision for the future is beneficial. Acknowledging faults is certainly admirable. However, without having a proper value system and being aware of it, it is questionable whether an individual can truly grow at all. What are my values? What do I believe in? Without careful consideration of questions such as these, one cannot improve in a genuine, unadulterated manner.
In an intriguing analogy, Pirkei Avot states that anyone whose knowledge exceeds their ma’aseh–their will to act upon their values and cause positive change–is like a tree with many branches…yet few roots. If a person prioritizes possessing knowledge for the sake of having knowledge, or anything else for that matter, they may seem to be well off, but, as the teaching continues, if any wind–a stumbling block or challenge of some kind–were to blow against this tree, it would be overturned, not having the strong, healthy roots needed to stay firmly in the ground. If one grows and acts without prioritizing their values, not wishing to act upon them as a result, they cannot be expected to flourish forever. They do not have concrete foundations, values that are the reason they learn and grow, and morals they will remain steadfast and uncompromising in.
This is not the case with individuals who work on themselves and expand their horizons with their values in mind. Anyone who prioritizes values and chooses to truly live by them has a strong foundation upon which they can grow, “roots,” so to speak, that ensure they will never stumble when faced with challenges or mere vicissitudes. Those who genuinely appreciate their values to the point that they are willing to act upon them are like trees with roots so strong that, “אפילו כל הרוחות שבעולם, באות” – even if all the winds of the world were to push against them… they would not be uprooted from their place.
The fact that values are necessary to keep in mind as one grows is actually reflected in the Jewish calendar. While our modern calendar gives individual months special names, such as Tishrei, it is notable that these names are never used in the Torah itself.
Rather, the Torah assigns numbers to each month in terms of their order from Yetziat Mitzrayim (ex: Nisan is known as “the first month” from the Exodus), when the Jewish people were freed from their bondage and first became an independent nation.
That the original calendar names all point back to Yetziat Mitzrayim, it is clear that the events that took place at that time are fundamental to Judaism and therefore important to continuously remember. But why? It is evident that the Jewish exodus was not merely a physical redemption of the persecuted Hebrews from their cruel oppressors. As the virtuous people of Am Yisrael were redeemed by G-d from the decadent, hedonistic Mitzrayim, the whole world saw a triumph of good over evil and truth over falsehood.
In fact, the Torah refers to the Exodus as a “sign for Mitzrayim” as well as Am Yisrael, implying that everyone, non-Jews included, should learn from it. This is because, as G-d toppled the corrupt powerhouse that was Mitzrayim and took the upright Hebrews out of the land, there was a clear manifestation of the values He truly supports and desires the human race pursues.
As a nation, it is integral for Am Yisrael to recognize this, continuously recalling the wonders involved and recognizing the positive values that have and would continue to guarantee its success. In fact, it was only when the nation downplayed the importance of values such as unity and chessed that it inevitably collapsed.
There is great merit in constantly looking back at what our fundamental values are. What we believe in, stand for, and consequently live by, despite possible discomfort and sacrifice. It is nice to look back and learn from mistakes. It is worthwhile to set goals for the future. But these activities, amongst all others, must be based on our values. As we go out into the world, and when we are eventually faced with conflicts, our values can be used to guide us, help us grow in lasting ways, and guarantee that, even when faced with the greatest of winds–the toughest, most intense challenges–we will stand strong.
