It was a less than a week ago that Jewish communities outside of Israel read the book of Koheles. In 9:10, the wise King Solomon admonishes his listeners "כל אשר תמצא ידך לעשות בכחך עשה - all that you're able to do with your might/abilities, do." I was privileged to hear from an adam gadol (who wishes to remain anonymous) a most powerful understanding of this verse.
In the Talmud there are three stories that portray making the most of one's potential. Firstly, we find (Kesubos 66b) that after the destruction of the second Beis HaMikdash, Rav Yochanan ben Zakai was leaving Yerushalayim and saw a young woman gathering pieces of barley from the dung of the animals that belonged to Arabs. When she saw the great Rabbi, she covered her hair and stood before him and asked for his sustenance. He asked her "Who are you"? she responded, "The daughter of Nakdimon ben Gurion." He asked her "What happened to your father's extraordinary wealth?" and she answered that unfortunately because he did not give charity, he lost his fortune. The Talmud then clarifies what she meant: we are taught that Nakdimon's daily practice, when he left his home to go to the study hall, was to have silk carpets laid out before him, and as he walked, the poor would gather up these expensive carpets and would sustain themselves with this most clever and extraordinary donation of charity. The Talmud says the he most certainly was philanthropic, however, what he was able to, and thus should have, done more, but unfortunately he did not; he failed to reach his potential.
In the second incident (Sanhedrin 68a), we are taught that when R' Eliezer was sick, Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues came to visit him. R' Eliezer asked them "Why have you come?" and they answered to learn Torah. Rebbe Eliezer said to them "I foresee unfortunately you will not leave this world with an easy comfortable passing." Rabbi Akiva then asked, "What will be my fate?" and R' Eliezer answered, "your passing will be much more tortuous than theirs". Rashi explains the harsh prediction of R' Eliezer in the following way: "because you, Rabbi Akiva, have an incredible mind for study, had you come and studied Torah from me you would have learned even more Torah than you have accumulated". Once again, the accusation is one of squandered potential - as much as Rabbi Akiva learned, and as great as he was, he could have done more.
The third story (Avodah Zarah 17b) relates that after R' Elazer ben Parta and R' Chananya ben Tradyon were arrested by the Romans, they had the following conversation. R' Elazer ben Parta said to R' Chananya ben Tradyon, "You are fortunate that you were only charged by the Romans for committing one offense while I was charged for committing five." R' Chanina responded, "How fortunate you are that despite the many charges, you will be saved, and woe unto me for having been charged with but one offense, and I will not be free, but suffer grave consequences. You will be freed because you have the merit for both studying and teaching Torah and at the same time the merit of gemilus chassadim, while I am charged with teaching and disseminating Torah, but I did not have the merit of gemilus chassadim to save me." The Talmud questions the statement of R' Chananya by reminding us that he served as the gabbai tzedaka, a trustworthy individual who discharged charity for the needy. The Talmud answers with the refrain used in the above two situations, i.e. yes he was involved with chessed, however he did not fulfill his potential and maximize his actions with accordance with his ability.
I'd like to offer a suggestion as to why the Talmud provides us with the insight and shortcomings of these three great individuals. Rav Shimshon Refael Hirsch zt"l teaches that in many places the Torah teaches in the extreme. For example, the Torah does not legislate that if a Jew dies, that individual is to be buried, rather it teaches (Devarim 22:23) that if a Jew was unfortunately stoned by the Sanhedrin, the body was to be hung and the individual buried on that day. From here we learn that if the criminal is to be buried, most certainly each and every Jew is to be afforded this service. Similarly, when the Torah teaches (Shemos 23:4-5) that if one encounters the ox of their enemy or his donkey wandering, he shall surely return it to him and, furthermore, if he sees the animal or one that he hates crouching under its burden, and one's instinctive reaction would be to refrain from helping him, the Torah ordains that he must assist the one that he hates. The Torah once again teaches in the extreme that if this behavior is required towards an enemy, or the more so is one to be responsible to assist his fellow Jew. Why, one might ask, does the Torah teach to the extreme? Why not simply say that if one encounters the animal of his neighbor he should return it and assist the neighbor?
I believe that Ravina and Rav Ashi included these three narratives in the Talmud to teach us the lesson that if these three great individuals were taken to task from On High, even though they excelled in their respective ways, for not performing up to their full potential, each individual Jew will also be held accountable if they do not fulfill their potential. This is what King Solomon meant when he began the above cited verse, "All", not some of, or most of, one's potential, but all one's potential is to be actualized. Understandably, we are nowhere close to the level of the three great tzadikim mentioned above, but the lesson for all of us is we all can, and must, do more.
A further elaboration of this thesis is found in Chovos Halevavos (Shaar Chesbon Hanefesh, chapter 3), whereby Rabbeinu Bachya teaches that one is to examine his growth and the effort exerted in his religious and spiritual observance. He gives the following parable: a master gave his servant sufficient seeds to plant a sizable field, but the servant utilized only part of the seeds for the field while the rest of the seeds he used for his own personal field. When the master saw that his field was only partially sowed, he confronted his servant and told him he would be held accountable for failing to do what he could have and should have done and instead used/stole the seeds for his own personal use. Rabbeinu Bachya is teaching us that too often, we could use our energies towards greater spiritual accomplishment, serving Hashem and benefitting our fellow man with greater results. Unfortunately, we squander these talents and use them for our own personal gain.
Finally, the Talmud (Berachos 32b) teaches that four areas of man's endeavors require strengthening: Torah study, the practice of good deeds, praying, and pursuing a livelihood. Rashi explains the term "strengthening" to mean to strengthen oneself constantly with all of their capabilities. We are to constantly strive to improve ourselves in these areas. Each one knows within the confines of his heart that there is always room for improvement.
There is a Jewish response to tragedy. The Torah (Bamidbar 10:9) teaches that, "When you go to war in your land against an enemy who oppresses you, you shall call out in prayer, sound the trumpets, and you shall be recalled before Hashem your G-d. and you shall be saved from your foes." Interestingly, there is a difference of opinion between the Rambam and Ramban whether there is a biblical mitzvah to pray daily. The Rambam is of the opinion that there is a biblical mitzvah to pray daily (based on Devarim 10:20), while the Ramban believes (based upon the above cited verse) that only in times of crises there is a biblical mitzvah to pray.
The Rambam (Hilchos Ta'aniyos, 1:1-3) codifies the positive mitzvah to cry out at a time of crisis. Moreover, he teaches that this cry is one of the paths of repentance, and that one should realize that our actions and interactions have caused the tragedy. As Sefer Yonah proclaims (1:12), "For I know that it is because of me that this terrible storm is upon you." Each individual must feel that they have unfortunately contributed to this horrific occurrence. On the other hand, if one simply believes that antisemitism is purely happenstance, and not a direct "hit" from Above due to our actions, in the Rambam's words (ibid), "such belief causes man to remain attached to their evil ways." Rather (and I personally feel inadequate to give mussar to others), each individual has to carefully consider how he can improve in the areas of Torah, avodah and gemilus chassadim.
Torah: we don't realize sufficiently that when one is privileged to study Torah, whether in a group setting, with a chavrusa, or even alone, one is imbibing Godliness. The Zohar teaches that, "He, His Torah, and Israel are One." Therefore, an increase in one's Torah study brings more Godliness into this world. Our studying with greater effort will hopefully cause Him to temper the harsh decree upon our people and our land. The Talmud (Makos 10a) teaches that the success of our soldiers on the battlefield was contingent on the Torah learning in Yerushalayim. What emerges from above is that each individual's additional Torah learning will make a real difference.
Avodah: prayer is the second pillar upon which our nation stands. One dare not have the feeling that since they cannot do anything else, they might as well as say Tehilim. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Prayer and recitation of Tehilim helps significantly. This is derived from the Torah: the Jewish people were told (Bamidbar 31:2-6) to send a thousand soldiers from each tribe to go to war against Midyan, and the Talmud teaches that indeed each tribe conscripted three thousand soldiers, splitting their assignments a follows: one thousand to engage in battle, one thousand to assist the soldiers, and one thousand to pray. The Jew fights with prayer! Praying, as well as learning Torah, effects and changes the spiritual environment about us, and this change can effect a change in the Heavenly decree.
Gemilus chassadim: it is so sad that over the past several months we saw too many public demonstrations reflecting a lack of unity and a lack of respect for fellow Jews with different ideologies. One day of horror from the Amalek animals has completely changed the environment. To share just a few examples: a Rabbi in Eretz Yisroel saw an announcement asking for people to host families from the South. He called forty-five minutes later and was told, you are way too late, we already found everyone a place. He asked how many families needed to be housed? The voice at the other end responded, about 6,000. They found homes for 6,000 families in forty-five minutes! Secondly, many restaurants in Tel Aviv wanted to help the war effort by sending food to the soldiers. They were rejected because their facilities were not kosher. They immediately called the Rabbinate and kashered their restaurants. One more example out of literally thousands: on the second night of the war, ten o'clock at night, a father saw his seventeen-year-old daughter dressed up and about to leave the home. He asked where she was going. She answered, "there's a wedding with very few women and girls to dance with the kalah. I am going to dance." U-mi k'amcha Yisroel!
We, too, have to implement the third pillar. I, unfortunately, know personally of families where one member of the family doesn't speak to others. Families where parents and siblings don't communicate. Even if you believe you are right but know the other side is hurting, repair the damage. Be big. Take the initiative and reach out to that individual that you have not spoken to in years. Learn from our dear soldiers who are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice and extend the painful effort to repair the breakdown of ahavas Yisroel. Ahavas Yisroel is not only to respect and love your peers and those with whom you associate. When someone cried to a wise Rav that their relative has a tattoo, his response was, that is an issue between them and G-d; your job, however, is to love them since they are a Jew.
None of us come near the level of Nakdimon ben Gurion, R' Akiva, or R' Chananya ben Tradyon, but all of us can learn to implement the teaching of Shlomo HaMelech: "All that is in your power to do, do. Finally, in our Mussaf on Rosh Hashannah we acknowledge that Hashem inspects ma'aseh ish upe'kudaso - the actions of man and the fulfillment of his earthly mission. Everyone is given a personalized tafkid - a purpose and mission to fulfill in this world. Our trying and doing just a little bit more: Torah study, taking prayers seriously by taking upon ourselves not to talk during davening, or to undertake to know the meaning of the prayers, and to truly demonstrate ahavas Yisroel by feeling and repairing the pain of another Jew, will help facilitate in no small way a better outcome in this horrific war.