Baruch Dayan Ha'emes. A little over a week ago I had the tragic experience of attending the funeral of a yeshiva-mate. He was a young budding talmid chochom who passed away at the all too tender age of 21. It is incumbent upon all of us not to let such a tragedy go to waste, but to let it serve as the clarion call, a physical blow to jar us from the drunken stupor of habit, complacency and routine that is our day to day lives.
The eulogists spoke of his tremendous accomplishments, how he overcame obstacles and dedicated his life to the service of God. They noted that for Hashem to take him, he must have completed his mission in this world and accomplished everything that there was for him to accomplish. Listening to those words, I could not help but wonder how I measured up. When people are alive its easy to dismiss their impressive deeds and attributes by noting their flaws. After they pass on, their good deeds somehow stand alone, serving as pointed rebuke for all those who dare to take notice. Yet, at the same time, I took hope. A major obstacle in striving for perfection is despair, the disbelief in the possibility of truly achieving the lofty goals set for us by God and ourselves. But there, right in front of me, was someone who did -- someone just like me, someone I interacted with everyday.
It was sad and tragic. He was motivating and inspiring.
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