A Moment in Time: Time to Call it Quits?

Dear all,

Last Sunday I set out to ride 36 miles in the Tour de Summer Camps. I so appreciated all those who supported this cause. You helped me raise over $5000 to send kids to Jewish Summer Camps!

I really enjoyed the ride. The air was brisk, my muscles were in pretty good shape, and my lungs were taking in the air. I was keeping a good pace as I completed the 12 mile marker.

But then, it happened. At first it was a gentle thump. But it grew into a thud. And then a hard bump bump bump. Yes, I got a flat!

I pulled over and called the hot line to get assistance. “We’ll be there within 45 minutes” they told me.

Sigh. My momentum was shot. I decided right then that I would just get a ride back to my car and head home. It just didn’t seem worth it anymore.

But I then recalled some rabbinic wisdom from Rabbi Tarfon in Pirkei Avot: “While you are not obligated to finish the task, you aren’t free to neglect it either.”

I was so close to calling it quits. But a shift in focus in that moment in time reminded me to keep on going. “Perhaps I’ll quit later. But not now. And not because of something fixable, like a flat tire.”

Yes, I kept going. And it was glorious?

(Well, it actually wasn’t at first. It took a while to get back in sync. But as I rode on it got better and better!)

With love and shalom,

Rabbi Zach Shapiro