This vort bothered me

amother

Fri, Jul 10 2020, 11:54 am

I was reading a story last night that was written by a local rav and his family. The rav contracted Covid in march and was literally an inch from death. boruch hashem he made a recovery and has been home the last few weeks. May he, and all those in need of a refuah, be healed speedily.

Towards the end of the story, the rav says that he spoke with someone who told him a story from a great gadol from years ago. I'm quoting directly from the article:

"Every morning we say Hameichin mitzadei gaver. We thank hashem for every step we are able to take. Then he explains that when a person is born, Hashem allots him a certain amount of steps in his lifetime. When hashem sees he's using up his steps to quickly, he puts that person in a hospital or bed, to enable him not to use up his steps. So what seems like a punishment is actually a bracha for longer life."

When I was younger I would love these types of vorts. At this point when I hear things like this I realize that this makes zero sense to me.

Is this really how hashem allocates longevity? By the amount of steps we take? Seriously?
Is it better not to do exercise or go walking? I have a feeling that statistically people who exercise live longer than those that don't.
How is a few weeks in the hospital going to meaningfully help? If a person only has a few days worth of steps left, won't they use it up when they get out of the hospital?
Is this rav seriously going to be careful about not walking anymore, and if not, what is the point of his story?

When I hear stories like this, I start questioning everything. Do rabbanim believe this concept about longevity being connected to steps?

Does anyone have any insight about this?

PinkFridge

Fri, Jul 10 2020, 12:03 pm

It's like being told you have so many words.
So yeah, you'd say I'll move as little as possible. I think these things are meant allegorically. We only have so much time and resources, use them well, and listen to the messages Hashem sends. Many people grew from corona, by taking cheshbon hanefesh, by being more aware and grateful for renewed strength, etc.
If I had warm feelings towards this rav, I wouldn't let this make me think lesser of him.

zaq

Fri, Jul 10 2020, 12:27 pm

The vort does nothing for me, but I wouldn't hold it against the rav. Nobody can write a Hit Parade winner every time and everyone lays an egg now and then. And sometimes the problem is not that the vort is inane but that it's expressed in a way that's so abstruse that people don't get it. If a vort seems to make no sense, it is most likely meant to be taken metaphorically. In this case, it apparently means conserve your resources and don't use them up them too quickly by doing too much in too little time. Stop and smell the roses. Otherwise, something unpleasant will happen to force you to slow down. It's certainly not meant to limit your physical exercise. Lack of exercise is responsible for more deaths than excessive exercise.

groovy1224

Fri, Jul 10 2020, 12:42 pm

I mean..I think this is just one person's way of coming to terms with his hospitalization. There is really no way to meaningfully understand why Hashem does anything, our meager attempts to make sense of it all are just a way help ourselves feel better about that which we can't understand.
If it brings him comfort to view his illness as a kindness from Hashem, so be it. If it doesn't speak to you, I'd just pass it by.

amother

Forestgreen

Fri, Jul 10 2020, 3:12 pm

groovy1224 wrote:

amother

Fri, Jul 10 2020, 3:25 pm

groovy1224 wrote:

What bothers me is that I've heard and enjoyed him speak. I honestly lost respect for him after reading these words of him saying something that to me, is completely nonsensical. How do I trust his judgement when he believes something like this?

naturalmom5

Fri, Jul 10 2020, 4:43 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Let me get this straight..

You have lost respect for a chochuva Talmid Chochom , because You don't understand something.. Surprised

Now I totally why women are discouraged from learning.

On a simple level, it just means , Hashem always does whats best for us, even when its seems like the worse possible thing to our limited vision..

amother

Magenta

Fri, Jul 10 2020, 4:57 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I read the same article. I was very moved and inspired but had the same reaction to this particular vort. He presented it as something to be taken literally and quoted a big gadol from a previous generation.
But I would certainly not dismiss this person just because I have a hard time believing this is meant to be taken literally. Though I don't know him personally, he seems like an exceptional person, with true emunah and compassion for others. It's not good to have such a black and white attitude towards people. We can have mentors and those we admire, but no person is perfect and it's okay if we don't agree with every word someone we respect utters.

amother

Sienna

Fri, Jul 10 2020, 4:59 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I think you took it too literally and are thinking too much into it. Hashem’s ways can’t be understood and some insights shouldn’t be shared with people who are incapable of understanding it or for whom it will only generate more questions and distress.

trixx

Fri, Jul 10 2020, 5:17 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

This is a good idea. From his article it seemingly appeared that he meant this completely literally. He's thanking hashem for putting him in the hospital so as not to use up his steps.

I think til you're in the hospital and an inch from death... don't judge what has brought him comfort or understanding to deal with what happened to him.

Aylat

Sat, Jul 11 2020, 3:04 pm

naturalmom5 wrote:

Let me get this straight..

You have lost respect for a chochuva Talmid Chochom , because You don't understand something.. Surprised

Let me get this straight...

You have lost respect for all Jewish women's ability to learn because of one question one woman asked?

FranticFrummie

Sat, Jul 11 2020, 6:48 pm

I think that it's about your attitude. You can't change what happened, but you can decide how you want to react to it. You can see the worst in the situation, or you can see the best. You can be confused, scared, angry, or you can be inspired, grateful, and hopeful.

Pick which attitude will make your life a more pleasant one.

If you'll excuse me for quoting myself, read this thread: https://www.imamother.com/foru.....96963

Gam zu l'tova!

amother

Sat, Jul 11 2020, 9:40 pm

naturalmom5 wrote:

Let me get this straight..

You have lost respect for a chochuva Talmid Chochom , because You don't understand something.. Surprised

If you want to say gam zi l'tova, (as you're doing) that's fine. But to add on this very specific interpretation as to why this happened....I don't think so.

From reading his story, it appeared to me that he meant it entirely literally. That is to say that hashem allocates a person a certain amount of steps in this world, and when used up a person will die. Since he was using up his steps and would therefore have to die, hashem did a chessed with him and send him to the hospital where he was bedridden and unable to walk. This preserved his available steps and allowed him to continue living.

I'm sorry, I'm human, but if this is meant literal (and I have every reason to believe the writer meant it literally) IMHO it is the most illogical idea I've ever heard in my life.

I didn't lose any respect for him as a person. He has a reputation as a talmud chochom and a kind man.

chicco

Sat, Jul 11 2020, 10:57 pm

I think he is trying to make sense of his suffering and this does ot for him. A person's life and what they go through and their experience of it all is Hashen communicating with him in that person's own language. When a person strongly feels connected to Hashem through these communications, they get inspired and want to share that joy with the world. The rest gets lost because it was their own personal experience. The significance of this story to me, is that a man communicated with Hashem and was inspired. Wow! The nitty gritties are irrelevant.

On a side note, the way I understand it is that it is not that Hashem allocates a number of steps to us before we begin using them, but because He is all knowing, Hashem knows how many steps we will take before we actually do. So let's say Hashem knows I will use 25,000,000,000 steps in my life because to Him it is all happening at once, that does not mean Hashem determined that's the amount I would take. It is just that He already knows what I will end up doing. And certainly a huge part of that is up to me.

ShishKabob

Sat, Jul 11 2020, 10:59 pm

naturalmom5 wrote:

Let me get this straight..

You have lost respect for a chochuva Talmid Chochom , because You don't understand something.. Surprised

This