What Is Our Toil?

A wedding guest was asked to speak at the special occasion. He apparently had no compunction about going on for too long as his remarks stretched to longer than an hour. Most of the guests had left at the 90-minute mark of his speech as they had enough. At the two-hour mark, the parents of the groom and bride decided they had enough as well and left the hall. At the three-hour mark, the bride said to the groom," This is the happiest day of our lives, and we don't want to let the speaker hijack our wedding." They slowly headed for the exit. After three and a half hours, the speaker finally concluded his speech and opened his eyes to find an empty wedding hall. He did see his friend Chaim Yankel at the other end of the ballroom. He inquired as to where all the guests had gone. Chaim Yankel responded, "Are you meshuga? You can't speak for four hours and expect people to stay for it." The speaker then asked Chaim Yankel why he remained when everyone else had left. Chaim Yankel responded," I am still here because I am the next speaker!" I am thinking of this old kibitz as this week, history was made in the United States Senate regarding the longest-ever speech. Cory Booker, the Senator from New Jersey, gave the sermon of his career that lasted 25 hours and 5 minutes, surpassing former Sen. Strom Thurmond (S.C.), who held the previous record as he spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes. I understand that Booker did not eat, drink, or have any bathroom breaks during this marathon speech. I read an article that quoted Booker saying that he intentionally dehydrated himself so he would not require any bathroom breaks. I was curious as to why the esteemed Senator would climb the Mt. Everest of speeches. The longest speech ever was a reaction to the Trump Administration's policy. Some call this an amazing feat, while others call it a pathetic stunt. While I am not in the practice of providing political analysis, the longest speech ever is noteworthy. For whatever reason, Senator Booker felt this was something worth investing an extraordinary amount of effort and energy. We all invest much of our effort and energy into various endeavors. This investment takes a toll on us, and sometimes, we need to ask ourselves what we are sacrificing so much of our well-being for. The Talmud in Sanhedrin quotes the verse from Job, אדם לעמל יולד. Translation: Man is created for toil. The Talmud elaborates in its analysis. Everyone was created for toil, but the person who chooses to toil with the Torah is fortunate. In other words, no one on this earth has immunity from stress or everyday pressures. Some fantasize that if they only abandoned the Torah and tradition, their lives would be much easier and less stressful. However, we know that EVERYONE has to endure stress and pressure in one way or another. It's just a question of what arena we want to put our effort or energy into. Fortunate is the person who chooses to toil and receives his dosage of stress from the areas of engaged Jewish life. Others choose to expend their energy and effort into delivering a 25-hour speech or other dubious endeavors. It's up to us how we toil. Let's choose wisely. Have a Peaceful Shabbos, Rabbi Yaakov Fisch