When Hayyim of Zanz was a young man, he set about trying to reform his country from its evil ways. But when he reached the age of 30, he looked around and saw that evil remained in the world. So he said, “Perhaps I was too ambitious. I will begin with my province.” But at the age of 40 his province too remained mired in evil. So he said, “I was still too ambitious. From now on I will only try to lift up my community.” But at 50 he saw that his community had still not changed. So he decided only to reform his own family. But when he looked around, he saw that his family had grown and moved away, and that he now remained alone.
“Now I understand where to begin. I need to begin with myself.” So he spent the rest of his life perfecting his own soul.
— From The Classic Tales by Ellen Frankel
Now is the time for cheshbon ha-nefesh, a thorough review of our behavior over the past year. Our focus at this time should be on ourselves so that we might improve our own souls. We cannot fix our families, our communities, our cities, or our world single-handedly but we can repair ourselves.
— Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback
