Great Insite from Rabbi Levi Wolf
A humble elderly gentleman, an octogenarian, passed away earlier this month in Oxford, England and I was moved when I heard the news.
We never met. Our paths never crossed. He wasn’t a member of our tribe. And yet I find myself thinking about him. His name was Sir Roger Bannister. Roger who?
For centuries, people said it was impossible for a human being to run a mile in less than four minutes. In fact, it was widely believed that human bone structure was not suitable, wind resistance was too great, our lung capacity was too small. (Limiting Beliefs)
But then on May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister proved the world wrong. He broke through the four-minute barrier, setting the world record at 3 minutes 59.4 seconds.
What happened next was more remarkable still. As soon as the “impossible barrier” was broken by Bannister, 37 other runners also cracked the four minute mile in the next year. The year after that, the number was 300.
What happened?
Human bone structure did not suddenly improve. But Human perception did. Previous runners had been held back by their mindsets. When the barrier was broken, other runners saw that it was possible and then hundreds of athletes broke the barrier with ease.
Success in our personal goals may seem unattainable … in reality, the constraints are hurdles in our heads. Once, the great Chasidic master, the Ba’al Shem Tov, was engrossed with his students in Torah learning when a wagon driver yelled into their study hall that he needed help to pull his horse and wagon out of the mud.
The students responded, “We would love to help you, but we can't. We’re academics and not strong enough to push.” The frustrated driver retorted, “Yes you can. You just don't want to!” With that the Baal Shem Tov ceased his lecture and said, “This message has the power to change lives. One always can. The only question is: Do you want to?”
No mitzvah is too difficult. No goal unattainable. We can do it … but do we want to? The answer is yes! We know that living and breathing Yiddishkeit helps us in a myriad of ways: greater balance; more wisdom; more happiness … a deeper sense of purpose.
As we approach the festival of Pesach, there is a unified strength felt at this celebratory time. An energy that enables us to transcend our personal perceived limitations, our (often) self-imposed boundaries … our own ‘Mitzrayim’.
Let’s harness the power to remove those barriers blocking our collective soul. What is your 4-Minute Mile? With faith, at this time of year in particular, I have no doubt you will conquer it and so much more!
With blessings for a peaceful Shabbes,
Rabbi Levi and Chanie
(I thank my friend Rabbi Dov Greenberg for the inspiration behind this thought!)