Are you thankful that you woke up this morning?
The expression ‘living on borrowed time’, is used when a person lives past their expected lifespan. The truth is that we are all on borrowed time. G-d lends us our soul each morning and tells us to please treat the day as you would treat anything that you borrow.
Just as we would return a book to the library in good or better condition, we must respect our day. Make the most of your time, using it properly and not ruining it. Our time is borrowed, and we are the borrower.
The Torah tells us “If a man borrows from his neighbor and it is damaged or dies, as long as the owner is not with him at the time, he must surely make restitution” (Exodus 22:13). If we do not respect the soul which is on loan, we must make restitution.
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Kotzk (1787-1859) used to say “Where is G‑d? Wherever He is allowed in.”
The good news is, that as long as we do our best and recognize that G-d, the “owner”, is with us, even if G-d forbid we damage our souls, the owner is with us. So, we have a way out.
One way to remember that our days are borrowed is to start the day with the Modeh Ani (Click Here to Download) and say the Shema (Click Here to Learn More) before we go to bed. Book-ending our day with G-d.
Have a good Shabbos,
Rabbi Mendel Schusterman
Thanks to my brother, Rabbi Kushi Schusterman, of Chabad Bel Air, Maryland for sharing the above thought.
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