A Recipe For Living Well

By Rabbi Mark Borovitz

This weekend marks the 50th anniversary of my Bar Mitzvah. It also marks the 26th anniversary of my release from Prison in Chino. So, it is truly a weekend of freedom, reflection and gratitude!

As I think about the Torah Portion, I laugh at God’s sense of humor. It is about Abram’s journey to Abraham, the journey of Sarai to Sarah, the journey of Abraham from Haran to Canaan, from childless to father of many nations, etc.  Looking at the journey of my life so far, who would have thought it would turn out like this? I am struck by the ways in which the 13 year old still lives in me. At times, I still have the wild-eyed optimism and moral fury of that 13 year old. I still love Shul and Judaism like that 13 year old. I am still dreaming of helping and making the world better like that 13 year old. And, I am still on a journey of learning and wonder like the 13 year old me.

My life took unexpected turns, just like Abraham’s did. It has been a wild ride and, thank God, I did not have to save my nephew from physical danger, I have been involved in saving people’s souls. And, I am unique and not special. We are all on a journey— it is called life. How we fare on this journey is our concern and our responsibility. Our Torah Portion tells us about ways to live well and ways that don’t help us live well. I believe we all have the obligation to live well. I also believe and know that we are all capable of living well.

Like Abraham, we have choices. Unlike Abraham, we also have history and experience, ours and his and all of our ancestors. We have the ability to make more informed choices. We have to begin to use this ability more. It is the great error I made as a teenager that took me on a journey that wasn’t mine. It is the error I made that allowed me to harm others instead of help them from 17-37. It is the great error I made that landed me in prison twice and gave me the stinking thinking that alcohol and money would solve all of my problems. 28 years ago, I learned about TShuvah and it’s power to change and heal others and me. In these last 26 years of living a life that is Addicted to Redemption, I have used the wisdom that I read and spoke about 50 years ago to help me live well and do the same for others. We all have at our fingertips the recipe for living and dying, blessing and curse, as our Torah teaches us. We have to become Addicted to Redemption by remembering:

1) We are not perfect and we all need to redeem others and ourselves.
2) We have to live a life of learning from our history and the lessons of our ancestors.
3) Seeing life as a journey and remembering none of us get out alive, we only leave our name and our deeds so make sure that we write the eulogy we want read.
4) Doing T’Shuvah each day, week, month and year allows us to stay clean and keep our spiritual connection with God, our loved ones, our community and world.
5) We all have the ability to make souls, like Abram and Sarai, and we have to start with our own

I ask you to join me and our ancestors, Abraham and Sarah, and the rest to Be Addicted to Redemption so we can partner with God and perfect the world a little more.