Thank you so much for your interest in the Jewish tradition and in my work.  It is a humbling privilege to serve the Jewish community as a Rabbi and to serve the military community as a chaplain.  There is a teaching attributed to several sages which inspires me:  At every moment, we should each have two slips of paper in our pocket.  On one should be written, "The world was created for my sake."  On the other- "I am but dust and ashes."  The secret of wisdom lies in knowing when we need to read each message.

We cannot be so humble as to become immobilized.  There is a time for prayer and reflection, and there is a time for action, as evidenced by God's response to Moses when Moses prayed for rescue at the shores of the Red Sea.  "Why are you praying now?", God is depicted as saying.  The Egyptians are in hot pursuit!  Move!

We learn from the response of Nakhson ben Aminadav, who seized the moment and plunged into the waters.  My Army colleagues like to quote Gen. Patton, who is purported to have said that a good plan, violently executed today, is better than a perfect plan next week.  We need to have the confidence to make decisions, stand by them, and move forward.

AND- we also need to temper our arrogance with a healthy dose of knowing our own limits.  I believe it was Rabbi Harold Kushner who said that the 4 holiest words in the English language are, "I may be wrong."  It is important to be open to input from others and to NOT be armies of one!

Finding that balance in our lives is an ongoing challenge.  May we be blessed to know which message we need to read at any given moment.