Humbling Moment

Tis the season

With the holidays coming up, it seems that the subways are experiencing an overload of acts. I rarely see a "show" on the way to school. Today, I saw two.

I don't usually feel particularly sympathetic to these people. Today, it was different. Today I felt bad for the people who came on.

First came this older gentleman with his violin. He played beautifully. It was so sad. When these teenagers come on and they put on a cool dance show, I don't feel bad for them. In my mind, they are just kids trying to make some extra cash which i can understand but its not sad. But when an older man is coming on to the subway playing for a few bucks...that pulls at my heartstrings. I wonder what happened in his life that he has to deign to this behavior. Most men his age are hopefully enjoying retirement. But there he is, standing on the subway, with his threadbare suit playing a violin that itself could not have been cheap, trying to pay for dinner.

It definitely makes you think. We have a vision of what our lives will be. We work hard to ensure that we have a safe,secure future.  No one likes to think that one day that he could be begging for money on the subway. It is a common thread in the motivation of most of the world's millionaires..they were poor when they were young and they vowed they would never be like that again. So they work. They dream. They work hard to protect themselves and their children from a life they never want to experience again.

Yet, millionaires become paupers. It is the wheel of Fortune. The Wheel turns and where there was once wealth and decadence is now poverty and lacking.

There is a story of a Rav ( i forget who i apologize) who was once giving a speech, during which he emphasized the fact that no matter how successful a person is Hashem can take that away from you in a second. No matter how much effort we put in our lives, it is ultimately in the hands of God. After the speech,  a wealthy member of the community came up to the Rav and thanked him for a beautiful shiur. But he had one comment to make " It just is not possible that all my money can disappear in one second. I have accounts in countries all over the world, I have money invested in all sorts of buildings and companies. It just isn't possible!" The Rav responded " who says the money has to disappear? Hashem can take you away from the money. You could have a heart attack and die in a second..and that is it!" All it takes is the blink of the eye.

It is hard not to get discouraged from this kind of talk. Why should I plan if in the end of the day it does not matter? If it can all be gone in a moment why should I bother working so hard?

It is difficult. But we cannot remain complacent. We have to strive. We have to achieve. I just think that it is humbling to see like this man on the subway. He never thought it would come to this.  When he was a little boy, this was not what he wanted to be when he grew up. The day he started his violin lessons, he imagined his audience to be in a concert hall, not a moving subway full of people who could not care less.