By Rob Goldberg
Hope springs eternal this month with the start of a new NFL season. For 32 teams, there is one ultimate measure of success: winning the Super Bowl – the brass ring of professional football. Anything less can feel like failure. And here in Buffalo, we all know too well the hope and heartbreak of having that ultimate prize sail wide right, inches from our grasp.
What has always settled me about such disappointments, is Judaism’s perspective of success.
This week’s Torah portion, Haazinu, is read during these sacred days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – a time when we reflect on the year that has passed while casting our sights toward the year ahead.
Near the end of Haazinu, Moses is told to ascend Mount Nebo, where he will be able to gaze upon the Promised Land but not enter it: “You shall see the land from afar; but you shall not enter it.” (Deuteronomy 32:52).
Imagine the disappointment. Moses had devoted the last decades of his life to leading the Israelites toward this very destination. He confronted Pharaoh, crossed the Red Sea, received the Torah, endured the people’s complaints while shepherding them through the wilderness. Yet his ultimate goal remained just beyond his reach.
Moses never was able to obtain the brass ring. And yet, could we possibly call his life a failure?
That question feels particularly appropriate during these Days of Awe. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur ask us to examine our lives honestly, to consider not only our accomplishments, but also our disappointments and the goals that remain beyond our reach.
Growing up, my father often reminded me simply to “do my best.” I can still picture him on mornings when I had a test and sending me off with those words. I was never rebuked for a grade that might have been higher if he knew I had genuinely given my full effort. Looking back, I realize just how deeply Jewish that simple message was.
Perhaps that is one of Haazinu’s lessons. Moses reminds us that we will not always reach every Promised Land we seek. Some mountains will remain unclimbed, some goals unfinished, and trophies never held high.
The question these holy days ask is not simply, “Did I get everything I wanted?” Rather it is: “Did I make the most of what I was given? Did I give it my best shot? And can I enter the new year grateful for what I have accomplished while still striving to become better?”
Sometimes the blessing is not in grabbing the brass ring. It is in knowing that we reached for it with everything we had.
Rob Goldberg is the former CEO of the Buffalo Jewish Federation. Today he serves as President of Temple Beth Tzedek and works as a consultant for both the Jewish Community Legacy Project and Trybal Gatherings.
