Time and again, as I sat in Jerusalem, breathing its inspiration, one saying from Pirkei Avot 3:1 came into my mind, the saying of one of the great heroes of Judaism, Akavia hen Mehalalel. He said: histakel bishloshah devarim...
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How Do I stay focused?
כִּי תִתֵּן אֶל לִבְּךָ תָּמִיד: מֵאַיִן בָּאתָ, וּלְאַן אַתָּה הוֹלֵךְ
It will cause you to always think about "where you came from and where you are going."
Akabyah ben Mahalalel said: mark well three things and you will not come into the power of sin: know from where you come, and where you are going, and before whom you are destined to give an account and reckoning. From where do you come? From a putrid drop. Where are you going? To a place of dust, of worm and of maggot. (Pirkei Avot 3:1)
For in truth, all these thoughts are counter to arrogance and they foster humility, because when a man looks at the lowliness of his physicality and the baseness of his origin, he will have no reason whatsoever to be haughty but only to feel shame and humiliation.
To what is this similar? To a pig-herder who rose to become the king. As long as he remembers his early days, it will be impossible for him to become arrogant. Likewise, when one considers that at the end of all his greatness, he will return to the earth to be food for maggots, all the more so will his pride be submitted and his roaring arrogance quieted. For what is his good and his greatness if his end is shame and dishonor? (Mesilat Yesharim 23)
(adapted from A Letter for the Ages, p. 47)
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