Timeless Torah

Anton Chekhov, was an unsuccessful Russian doctor who would eventually become one of the world’s great literary masters. Among the many aphorisms attributed to Mr. Chekhov is the advice that he once gave an aspiring dramatist, “If you hang a gun on the wall in the first act, you had better use it by the third act.”
Avid readers, or those who attend plays, watch movies, etc. can readily testify to the large number of writers that utilize this tactic. Thus in the spirit of true Chekhovian drama, chest pains are inevitably followed by heart attacks, life insurance policies by sudden deaths, and telephone rings by earth shattering news. In real life however, most chest pains turn out to be indigestion, policies are the harbinger of nothing more than endless years of premium payments, and telephone calls end up being from some pre-recorded marketing service.
Simply put, life does not imitate art. Sadly enough, the reason for this is that most people do not seem to lead purposeful existences. Instead they allow events, meetings and opportunities to be rendered irrelevant. What could have been order becomes chaos, and what should have been sequential became haphazard.
All of the above reminds me of the opening words in this week’s Ethics of our Fathers, “(Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi) Rebbe said: What is the right path (Derech Yeshara) that a person should choose for himself?”
It should be noted that Rebbe is speaking not about specific actions, but about a “Derech Yeshara,” which literally means “A straight path.” Every Derech or path, whether it be on the city streets, country highways or on the road of life requires three things: A starting point, an end point or goal, and a way to get from the beginning to the end, regardless of how circuitous the route.
In contrast, a straight line is the set of all points between point A and point B that have an easily identifiable property. One that requires that all the points be contiguous, meaning each point is the continuation of the previous point.
With this in mind, we can now view the words of Rabbi Yehuda in a completely different light. Rather than read the phrase, “What is the right path that a person should choose for himself?” merely as a question, it now provides the solution as well. All that is required is a change in punctuation as in, “What is the Derech - path that a person should choose? The Yeshara - straight one.”
A straight path is one in which every step is a continuation of the preceding one and leads to the step that follows. Thus, if the steps I take now are a natural outgrowth of the steps I took previously, then this path can be termed straight. And if the point I now occupy is both the jumping board and directional guide for my upcoming positions than this road I have embarked upon is, once again, straight.
This is completely unlike the path which zigs and zags all over the place, with no clear direction. At times you might be heading north, and moments later south. Rebbe’s instructive lesson to us then is, look for a Derech, an approach, especially in regards to Judaism, that has integrity. So if a person’s behavior at 7AM in the synagogue has no connection with his or her behavior while working in the office at 10 AM , then while everyone, including you, are on a journey, it is not a straight-forward one.
A Derech Yeshara implies an integrated life. A life, where what we say in our prayers is manifest in our actions. A life, that carries over the inspirational lessons of Judaism from our Hebrew School days into adulthood. A life that extends the promises we made to our spouses under the wedding canopy and to our children when they were first born....not obsolete, but continuous.
Such a life is straight. It doesn’t send out mixed signals. Such a life is easy to follow. Others will always know where you are and where you stand. Such a life is beneficial for our children, offering them clear goals to aim for. If we but had such a life, where our every step seemed planned, reading our diary would send Mr. Chekhov into paroxysms of jealousy.