Patience in the Process

Black Monday hit the NFL with a vengeance this year. Black Monday is the day following the last day of the regular season in the NFL, in which teams unhappy with their performances in the season will fire their head coach. This year, 10 head coaches have been let go since their teams' seasons ended. Considering there are only 32 teams, that's nearly a third of them! Perhaps the most surprising firing was the Buffalo Bills, who let go head coach Sean McDermott, who posted a 98-50 record during his time in Buffalo and made the playoffs for eight of the nine seasons he coached in this frigid city next to Lake Erie. While I am not a sports analyst, I feel a need to weigh in on these firings. ​ I believe that these coaches were fired because their owners were unhappy that their teams did not reach the Super Bowl or go 17-0 during the regular season. The reality is that only one team can win the championship, and there is a lengthy process for a team to evolve from a basement dweller to a contender to a champion. Patience is not a virtue in a society that wants to win now and always win. ​ The Torah teaches us that, upon the conclusion of each of the six days of creation, G-d said, “It was good.” There is one exception to this, and that was on Monday. Rashi, in his commentary, says that the omission is intentional because the work on Monday was not completed until Tuesday. For that reason, the Torah records that G-d said “it was good” twice on Tuesday. The larger lesson is that anything important in life involves a process and takes time for it to come to fruition. ​ As time goes on, our generation has less and less patience for processes and wants instant results. This doesn't manifest itself only on the football field, but rather in all areas of life. From building and sustaining our marriages to child raising to developing a relationship with G-d, one must be committed to a process. If anyone tells me that they have no issues and have instant success, it should be viewed with suspicion. It’s easy to get discouraged when we don’t see the results we want at the speed we would like, but let us remember that G-d taught us this lesson of process when He waited until Tuesday to complete the work of Monday. ​ Have a Peaceful Shabbos, ​ Rabbi Yaakov Fisch