I'm Almost 70 What's the Best Use of My Time?

Hi, this is Double Lasky with our question and answer, where in a few minutes we try to answer questions that our readers have submitted. What advice can Rabbi Lasky give to someone even older than Rabbi Lasky who's approaching 70 for best use of time and what attitude to aspire to? Okay, even older than you approaching 70. I'm 67, so again we're talking about two or three years, you know? So, when you're six and your friend is nine, that's a lot. But when you're 67 to 69, it's not that big a difference. I would say we're sort of in the same age group. I'm just just saying. Anyway, what do you do? Uh I think it's best summed up by Frank Sinatra. And so, the end is near. And I ring the final curtain. Yeah, uh you're coming towards the end. Uh I describe myself at my age as if you've ever gone to a restaurant, they close at 10:00 and you get there about a quarter to 10:00. So, they're still officially open, but they've already turned off the grill and they're already putting the chairs up on the tables and you go, there aren't that many things left to order, you know? And uh your your options become more limited. When you're young, your life is filled with possibilities. When you get start to get older, your possibilities are closing down. They They've already turned off the grill. The list of foods you can't digest get longer and longer. Your body doesn't respond. Uh they used to have uh Was it Lee's? I think it was Lee's, you know? Says, uh yeah, you're getting a little older. Uh the old the old dungarees don't fit like they used to. You need a little more room. I I'm waiting to get to that point where you have to pull your trousers up to your chest, you know what I mean? So, I don't know. Donald Trump is 80. He doesn't sleep. He doesn't stop. He just keeps going. He makes his press conferences for hours. Hours he stands there and talks. I don't know how he does it. Yeah? So, uh Um so, there's obviously age is a different thing, and I have to point that out, too. That life has changed, cuz it used to be that the lifespan was like it says in Tehillim. Yeah, most people didn't make it to 70. Yeah, the lifespan was to the late 60s. That's why they had retirement age at 65. You played golf for a few years, and you died, and that was it. And I still remember growing up, you saw a guy who was 67, 68, his hair was white, he was walking with a cane. He's old man. A woman in her late 60s had her hair up in a bun, you know, white hair. You know, they were both schlepping around together. I did tours to Europe with people in their 80s. They were faster than me. Now, maybe that says more about me than them, but they're going here, they're touring, they're sports, they're active. You see people in their 80s today, it's it's different. The world has changed. So, this concept of 70 more or less being the end of our lives does not have to be true. There's still plenty for us to do. But, yeah, it's true. Most of us are not the physical specimens we were. I am. I'm just as as as much of a physical specimen as I was at 16. Not much, yeah? But, what it means is that as we start to get older, we're focusing more on uh the next world than on this world. Yeah? I remember when I turned 60, somebody said to me, "Well, 60's not old." I said, "There's a mission that disagrees with you." Says, "Shishim l'ziknah." "Shiv'im l'seivah." 70, you're very old. Yeah? "Shmonim l'gvurah." 80 is for strength cuz frankly, we're surprised you're still here. So, the matius has changed, but you got to figure you b'derech hateva unless you have some sort of a situation. That doesn't mean anything cuz my mom, who had everything under the book, made it to 89. You know, she was suffering from everything, you know? But, uh she made it to 89. So, it could very well be b'derech hateva you have another 20 years. 20 years is a lifetime. And there's so many things you can do. Your odds of becoming a major league baseball player, less limited. Yeah, less likely. But, uh if you haven't finished Shas, now's the time to do it. Yeah? If you don't know how to learn, get yourself an art scroll. Read through it. Learn through it, I should say. You can listen to somebody's shiurim online nowadays. You know, you can in these 20 years become an enormous talmid chacham. Uh be there for your family. Be there for your children, your grandchildren. They need you. They may not even know they need you, but trust me, they need you. Uh and that should be our aspirations. At this point, we're not trying to eat the biggest steak. We're not trying to go on and do all kinds of things. Again, you know, there was an artist called Grandma Moses. She started uh she first started painting I think close to 80, you know? When I was teaching in Ohr Someayach, which was mostly collegiates in the intro program, this older gentleman comes in. I said, "Can I help you?" He says, "I'm joining the beginners program." And he saw I look at him in surprise and he says, Rabbi, I'm 82, if not now, when? As long as we're alive, we can do amazing things. And the fact is that people begin to decay when they don't have anything to do. When people retire, they don't have anything to do, that's when they fall apart. We're living in a society where a lot of older people, you know, Chuck Grassley from Iowa is in his 90s and he's still sharp as a whip. You know, um Alan Dershowitz is quite close to 90, still sharp as a whip. So, and he makes a podcast and he's involved. So, every one of us uh has that ability. Don't let any day slip out of your hands. Every single day is precious. This has been Dov Hellerowski with our question and answer series.