Elul: The Important Things In Life - Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks ZT'L

as anyone who's ever really engaged in time management knows the single most important distinction is between the Urgent and the important and of course what happens is that very often we uh concentrate on the Urgent and the things we fail to spend time on are the things that are important but not urgent and to deal with that Judaism created the most powerful time management tool in Civilization it is called Shabbat on Shabbat you have to stop whatever you're doing and focus on the things that are important but not urgent the things you'd never find time to do if there were no such thing as shabus in your life like talking to those you love like spending time appreciating what God has given you like having a meal with friends like singing with joy at the fact that we're here like praying to God and offering him our sacrifice of thanks thank you for all the good things you've put in my life I think a life without Shabbat is a life without time management and of course beyond that there's the biggest time management seminar of the whole lot which we call the AER Chua the 10 days beginning on rashishana ending on yum kipur when we think about the year that has passed and quietly God is asking us a question you're asking me for another year of life let me hear your answer to this question last year I gave you another year of Life what did you use it for did you spend your time on the things that make a difference and that's really when we ask you know what have we done in the past year how have we added to the store of human happiness how have we made the world a little better and so rashash yam kipur are to me the great time management days of a lifetime and it seems to me that the Torah really understood that of all things the most precious is time it's the only thing that God gives to us equally une equal terms however rich or poor powerful or powerless they're still only 24 hours in a day and still only 52 weeks in the year and a span of years that is all too short the essence of Judaism is contained in that marvelous line from Psalms [Music] teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom it is counting our time that is the most important thing in life and Judaism the world's most ancient and to my way of thinking the single most effective form of time management