Responsibility Breeds Success

“And Eisav said, ‘Behold, I am going to die, so why should I have this birthright?’ ” (Bereishis 25:32)

Rashi writes that before relinquishing the birthright, Eisav questioned Yaakov about the responsibilities and service that would be incumbent upon him as the firstborn.

Yaakov explained, “There are many prohibitions involved, including even punishments by death.”

Eisav concluded, “I’ll eventually die as a result of my birthright, so why should I desire it?”

Therefore, Eisav chose to trade the birthright, rather than risk his possible demise due to flawed performance. (Rabbi Daniel Stein, TorahWeb)

“Drivers needed to take patients to the hospital.”

I’d seen the advertisement before and always wished I could be involved. Having a car in Israel isn’t necessarily standard, and I wanted to share it with others as well. Still, I’d never contacted the organization.

Unfortunately, over the years, I’ve become reluctant to volunteer for chasadim, my youthful idealism replaced with practical realism. It seemed like every time I offered to do a communal chesed, there would be a sudden need for my personal chasadim inside my own home. Suppers for yoldot fell by the wayside while I struggled to make suppers that my own brood would actually eat. Visiting the sick got pushed to the side when I was tending to strep or the flu with my own little ones.

But for some reason, this past August, seeing this advertisement again galvanized me into action. Without thinking further, I dialed the number.