Shammai taught:
Make the study of Torah your primary occupation:
Say little, do much, and
Greet every person with a cheerful face.
This particular Mishnah speaks to me as a woman, mother, grandmother, daughter, wife, teacher, professional, synagogue congregant, friend—-in fact all the roles I play in my life. As I look at all three lines, the words “role model” come to mind, because in each of the roles I just mentioned, doing the act described is not only important to do for its own sake, it is important for its value as a role model as well.
As women, what we do as role models count. They count in our families—as daughters, granddaughters, siblings, mothers. They count in the work place, in the synagogue, in our relationships.
And they count in each line of the Mishnah.
Make the study of Torah your primary occupation.
At any age, continuing to study and re-study Torah and Jewish writings helps us to stay on higher ground morally and spiritually, and seek new meanings in familiar writings as we and our situations change. To make it our primary occupation, as suggested in the writings, would keep us grounded as well. While I certainly … Read the rest