Lessons from the “We're not here to repeat history; we're here to make history.” (Karl-Anthony Towns) Lesson #1: Keep certain things to yourself. privacy makes you better. “To be honest, there's a lot of things that go on that you guys don't see. A lot of things we talk about, a lot of things we do that we don't even say publicly.” (Jalen Brunson) Bava Metziah 42a:4 . אֵ ין הַ ְ ּב ָרכָה ְמצוּיָה אֶ ָּלא ְ ּב ָדבָ ר הַ ּ ָסמו ּי ִמן הָ עַ יִן:וְאָ מַ ר ַר ִ ּבי יִצְ ָחק And Rabbi Yitzchak says: Blessing is found only in a matter concealed from the eye.
How is privacy related to blessing?
Lesson #2: things can change instantly. work hard and have faith. “No lead is too big, no guard is too small!” (ESPN Announcer Tyler Murray) Old Jewish Saying .י ְׁשו ּעַ ת ה׳ ְּכהֶ ֶרף עַ יִן The salvation of Hashem can come in the blink of an eye. Berakhot 10a ְ ּכ . אַ ל י ְִמנַע עַ צְ מ ֹו ִמן הָ ַרחֲ ִמים,של אָ ָדם ֶ ׁ אֲ פִ י ּלו ּ חֶ ֶרב ַח ָּדה מו ּ ּנַחַ ת עַ ל צַ וָּאר ֹו,ָך ְמ ּקו ְ ּּבלַ נִי ִמ ֵּבית אֲ בִ י אַ ָּבא [Hezekiah said:] I have received a tradition from the house of my father’s father, from King David, the founding father of the dynasty of kings of Judea: Even if a sharp sword rests upon a person’s neck, he should not prevent himself from praying for mercy.
Jewish tradition has many stories of people whose lives turn around, even when it seems impossible. Can you think of any? 1
Lesson #3: Build a team you can rely on when things get hard. “It's good for us to know when things are not going well, we're going to lean into each other.” (Karl-Anthony Towns) Pirkei Avot 1:6 ָ ו ְּקנֵה,לְך ַרב ָ שה . וֶהֱ וֵי ָדן אֶ ת ּכָל הָ אָ ָדם לְ כַף זְכו ּת,לְך חָ בֵ ר ֵׂ ע ֲ Make for yourself a teacher, acquire for yourself a friend, and judge every person favorably. Midrash Tanchuma on Nitzavim I If a person takes a bundle of reeds, can he break them all at once? But if he takes them one at a time, even a child can break them.
Do you feel stronger as a team member? Which “teams” are you part of? Lesson #4: You represent more than just yourself. you represent your people. “We reflect all our fans and their lifestyles, and what it takes to make it in New York City.” (Karl-Anthony Towns)
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks “Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them,” wrote Shakespeare in Twelfth Night. Throughout history, Jews have had greatness thrust upon them. As the late Milton Himmelfarb wrote: “The number of Jews in the world is smaller than a small statistical error in the Chinese census. Yet we remain bigger than our numbers. Big things seem to happen around us and to us.” G‑d trusted us enough to make us His ambassadors to an often faithless, brutal world. The choice is ours. Will our lives be a kiddush Hashem or, G‑d forbid, the opposite? To have done something, even one act in a lifetime, to make someone grateful that there is a G‑d in heaven who inspires people to do good on earth is perhaps the greatest achievement to which anyone can aspire. Shakespeare rightly defined the challenge: Be not afraid of greatness.
How do you reflect your people? How do you want to reflect your people?
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