Pirkei Avot 1:13
הוא היה אומר, אם אין אני לי, מי לי; וכשאני לעצמי, מה אני; ואם לא עכשיו, אימתיי.
Hillel said:
If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
And if I am only for myself, what am I?
And if not now when?
What does this mean in the context of everything we have learned so far? How do we balance our care for others with our own needs and wants? Are there texts we've learned so far that have given more guidance in how to address Hillel's statement?
Daniel Bush COmment 3
ReplyDeleteI really like this quote. This quote helps people get a further understanding of self resposibility. It begins with "If i am not for myself who is for me?". This is basically saying that if i dont lookout for myself, why should someone else lookout for me. Im not their responsibility, and they have to take care of themselves also. SO why should some person take care of me and theirself? Then the next part somewhat contradicts the first part. It explains that if a person is selfish and only helps themself and no one else then that person can be in big trouble because if i dont help someone why should they help me? so if i dont help people who need it, when i need it why should people help me? Pesonally this is one of my favorite sayings because it finds the balance between being independent or self-reliant, and helping others who need it.
Jason comment #5
DeleteI agree with daniel. This text is pointing out that you should be treated as you treat yourself. If you don't give tzedakah, an somehow you become poor, you shouldn't deserve tzedakah. Being independent also, like what daniel said, Should you be given everything on a silver platter, or should you go out and deserve the things you get? LIfe is not going to just give you everything. If you can't work for yourself? Who should work for you? The answer is: No one.
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ReplyDeleteBruce Comment #1
ReplyDeleteI dont see this as directly promoting the obligation of tzedakah, but the job of one to stand up for themselves. the last line of the quote is "If not now when." This is a line you hear throughout your life just phrased in different ways. In a world where there is a constant rush is one to speak out for themselves they should do it now or 'forever hold their peace'. The second thought on this is oriented towards tzadakah and how this pertains to the texts we've been studying. I could see how this could tie into the text about treating a formerly rich homeless person how they are used to. This quote discusses self righteousness and support. obviously if you're not for yourself it is not the job of your community to fully support you but as a contrast if you become too self absorbed why should the community offer you help in your time of need? I think this quote would fit well with the text of giving ten percent of your income. it justifies self support as well as communal
Alana Bonus Comment #2
ReplyDeleteI think this quote from Hillel force us to focus on and truly consider the way we live our lives. “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?” This part of the statement tells us how we must not fully depend on others and how when it comes down to it we must take care of ourselves. We at some points need to be selfish even if no one else agrees. We must stand up for what we believe in or "take a sick day" when you just need a break. It’s great to give to others, but you also have to accept things from others too sometimes.
“If I am only for myself, what am I?” I think this then like Daniel mentioned somewhat contradicts the first line. To me it means let yourself be selfish sometimes, but not all the time. Take what you need but don't be a jerk about it and take too much. It is ok to put yourself first but if you do so make sure you are conscious of those around you. Basically though we must find a middle ground between selfish and selfless.
“If not now, when?” This line then kind of summarizes the entire quote. We must live life to the fullest and sieze every moment and opportunity because we do not know what tomorrow has in store for us. Don't take anything for granted, rather live every moment like it is your last.
I think as far as everything we have studied this year this quote really explains how one should be independent but also be able to depend on others when necessary. Whether it be giving tzedakeh or receiving it when you can't support yourself, we as people must find the balance between being selfish and being selfless.
Zachary Comment#6
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what Daniel Bush is saying. This quote is a very interesting one and has a lot of meaning to it. The question it is asking is, " How do we balance our care for others with our own needs and wants?". Obviously, if it was a do or die situation, I would attend my own needs before anyone else's. Yet, there are some things I would do to help somebody else before myself. For example, on my trip to L.A this year when we went to the beach, I saw a man with a cup full of change, a skateboard, a sad face and a bunch of broken dreams. The man looked crushed and didn't even have neough to get himself some food. I walked up to the man and gave him a $10 bill that i was going to use for lunch, but maybe I just used it to save a man from starvation. Maybe one day because of that $10 bill, it gave him hope and this poor homeless man will become a very powerful man. Who can predict the future? Nobody can, it is inhuman. Maybe I will be in the streets one day and that man will recognize me and repay me that $10 bill to get me started with life and to give me hope. Those are the situations where if you don't help somebody, they won't help you. However, if you choose to be good to your friends and the people around you, maybe the cycle will come back to you and you will get the help you so desperately need. The question was, " How do we balance our care for others with our own needs and wants?". Well, my answer is that there are certain things that you can do to help somebody else, and then there are some things that you must do to prioritize for yourself.
Gabi Bonus Comment #2
ReplyDeleteI agree with almost everything everyone has said. I think this text is a very good example for how we should live our lives. The first line, "If I am not for myself, who will be for me?" means that you need to take care of yourself in case no one else will. As teenagers, we have parents, teachers, and friends to take care of us, but as we grow older we might not have those people in our lives anymore. I think the fact that this is the first line in the text is significant and shows us that we should put ourselves first and take care of our needs. This reminds me of when you go on a plane and they show you the safety video. It always says that you should put on your oxygen mask before helping others. I think this is because if you don't have oxygen, there is no way for you to help other get oxygen. Once we take care of our own needs, we are more able to help others.
This leads in to the next line, "And if I am only for myself, what am I?" I think that this is saying once you help yourself and are able to help others, you should. No one wants to be perceived as selfish or thoughtless. This would be the person who puts on their own oxygen mask on the airplane, but then does not help the person next to them. If a person doesn't consider someone else their responsibility after they have helped themselves, then what are they?
The last line of the text says, "And if not now, when?" As Bruce said, this motto shows up in many different forms throughout our lives. Wether it is a coach urging us to try out for a team, a teacher pushing us to take an AP class, or anything else, we hear this a lot. I think in this instance, it is referring to helping people. If not now, when are you going to help yourself and others? I think this ties together the Self vs. Others unit because it basically says that the time for helping anyone, yourself included, is now. Just like there the oxygen mask situation is urgent, so is being for yourself and others.
Mia Bouns Comment #1
ReplyDeleteI believe that this puts the balance between helping ourselves and helping others into perspective. By saying you are for yourself it is showing you that the only person that can truly help you in all the ways you need help is yourself. You are the only one who knows exactly what you need at every moment of the day. Without the insight others around you can not help you as much as you can. But it also says that you can not only be fore yourself. although you are the only one who knows yourself best, there are also others out there that could benefit from your help. But the main question still lingers in the air, and that is, what is the middle ground? How do you balance the two?
My opinion is the way to balance it is quite simple. Our own needs and wants are probably the most important things in our lives, but i know what is practical. I know that although i want it that doesn't mean i need it. If i cant live without it then it is something i need. So don't treat yourself like a queen, when you can live like a princess. Same thing goes for helping out others. Don't treat others better than you would treat yourself. The best thing to do is treat others with respect and treat yourself with respect.
Adina Bonus Comment #1
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with everything that Alana and Gabi said. I loved Gabi's comparison to the oxygen mask on the plane, I think it fit this text perfectly. I also feel the same way as Mia when it comes to the way she answered the question, How do you balance the two? You should never treat anyone else in a better way than the way you treat yourself. You should always treat yourself with respect and then you can treat others the same way.
I think I want to take this text a different direction then the comments above and try and bring up a new idea to think about. When it says, "If I am not for myself, who will be for me?" One day a tragedy can happen and you could lose all of your family and friends very quickly and then what would you do? They are your support system and push you to continue on in life day after day. What would you do with out them? The question asks who will be for me if I am not for myself, but there will not always even be someone there for you. You must be there for yourself at all times.
When it says, "If I am only for myself, what am I?" this doesn't mean that you are selfish. This could mean that there is no one else there for you so why should you be there for others? If no one is giving you anything, then you don't owe them anything in return. Once you have given yourself enough then it would be a nice thing to do to give to others. It is important to think about yourself before thinking about others.
The last part, "And if not now when?" is exactly like what Bruce said. We hear this all the time, you could go on for hours asking what if questions and most of the time you will not have an answer for them. This is very similar to a what if question and we could sit around all day saying if not now when? Live life to the fullest and don't waste time just like Alana said. You have to live as if there is no tomorrow.
Liana Brown Bonus Comment #1
ReplyDeleteI think this text forces us to find the balance between choosing yourself and choosing others. Like Mia said, it can be hard to discover this stability, but it is important that we know that we should do both. Adina's comment talked about the part of the text that mentioned “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?" I completely agree that people should learn to be self-reliant, and know that they may not always have people around them to motivate them and cheer them on in their lives. But, hopefully by helping others there will always be a person who will be there for you in return. By being unselfish, you will influence the people around you to do the same for others and for you. I do see the importance of being selfish and looking out for you, but I would like to think that we all strive to help others and think of their needs before our own. Realistically, this would never consistently be the case, but by being there for someone else they may do the same for you. This compromise can help establish that balance, which shows that you are willing to put others before yourself, but you know that you would sometimes want to put yourself before them, and so would they.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pay_it_forward/
This is not an article, but it is a link to a movie summary and reviews about the movie “Pay it Forward." In this movie the boy discovers a way to help people by using their selfish instincts to influence them to help others. He does a favor for three people and hopes that each of them will pay it forward by doing something for three other people. Someone is the first link in the chain, the selfless person who is willing to be completely for someone else. But, once the receiver gets something out of it, they are willing to give to others and put that person before them. By being helped you feel an obligation to help others, which can help you find a balance between being selfish by accepting that help, and being self-less by paying it forward.
I liked that movie. My only issue- 'Paying it forward' implies that doing a good thing for someone might result in someone doing something good for you. My preferred way to live is to be good and kind because God demands it of me.
DeleteSamuel Fogel comment #5
ReplyDeleteSomething that I feel is extremely worthy of living by is the saying "Treat others how you would treat yourself." By living by those terms I feel a certain purity is created, a set of standerds that will get you far in life. I feel that, that term is an great answer to Hillel's Saying because it gives a sort of compromise and guide line that can successfully deal with the problem of caring about your self but not others and vise versa. Selfishness and selfless is unavoidably on many levels, however when you are able to think about "Treat others how you would treat yourself" it can be an important filter to do what is right.
#3
ReplyDeleteI agree with what everyone is saying too. This text focuses on balancing the amount you care for yourself, and the amount you care for others. This is very difficult to balance, especially being a teenager. Teenagers are not very selfless and usually only care about themselves. Finding that balance is very difficult for most people. This brings us to the line about "If I am not for myself, who will be for me?" This means that if you don't even care about or respect yourself, then no one is going to care about or respect you. Like Alana said, I believe that we must not only be dependent on others and that we should learn how to take care of ourselves. We need to do things for ourselves once in a while, but also keeping others in mind.
This leads in to the next line, "And if I am only for myself, what am I?" I agree it's Gabi
and I think that this means that once you care about yourself, and you have the ability to care about there, you should. You should not be selfish and only care about yourself if you have the ability to care about others as well.
This leads to the last line of the text, “If not now, when?” I believe that we must live life to the fullest and sieze every moment and opportunity because we do not know when that opportunity is going to disappear So whenever you have the opportunity to give or help someone, you should take it. If you help others, others will help you too. There is never a wrong time to help yourself, and there is definitely never a wrong time to help others