Happy 2022! As we enter a new month and a new secular year this week, let’s take a look at some of the more “popular” New Year’s Resolutions….and see what our tradition might have to teach us.
Learn a new skill or hobby.
To be clear, our Sages do not have a lot to say about hobbies. For them, any free moment not engaged in the study of sacred text is a moment wasted. But, they are clear about how to get started with at least that. Or, to be more precise, they are very clear about how not to get started.
In Pirkei Avot 2:5, we read:
:וְאַל תֹּאמַר לִכְשֶׁאִפָּנֶה אֶשְׁנֶה, שֶׁמָּא לֹא תִפָּנֶה
Say not: ‘when I shall have leisure I shall study;’ perhaps you will not have leisure.
Perhaps you have a bucket list or a someday list. Maybe you want to learn French, or try skydiving, or commit to regular volunteer work. I am sure you have activities in mind to which you have said: I would love to do that, but maybe when I have more time.
Now, the rabbis of the Mishnah probably had different demands on their time. They were worried about their crops, or the fermentation process for their wine, or a long journey rife with bandits. They probably did not use “busy” as an answer to the question “How are you;” and when they said they did not have enough time, I imagine it to be more of an existential response, rather than a commentary on back to back Zoom meetings. However, I think the lesson is timeless—if there is something you want to try…try it now.
— Rabbi Sari Laufer