As the school year comes to an end, people will be facing many choices. Some will be trying to figure what they are doing for the summer. Some soon to be graduates will be thinking of what to do for the summer and next year and probably beyond that. How do people decide what they want to do with their life? Some people have dreams from the time they were five that they want to be a doctor or a rabbi or pick a profession. Some people figure out what they want to do in college. They either suddenly come to a realization or they like a class they take and then take more classes and enjoy that subject. Those people are the lucky ones. I wish I was one of those people. It is very nerve-racking to not know what you want to do with your life when you are graduating and you have to support yourself. Well I guess there are those that have parents that will support them. I feel bad for those people because what will they do when their parents money runs out? I will not discuss that right now.
Some of my frustration with trying to figure out what to do with my life has to do with Jewish day school education and some has to do with YU in particular. I will start with day school education. Throughout my Jewish education I have heard numerous times for people not to sell themselves short and how they have so much potential. What the hell does that mean? If Michael Jordan would have wanted to play baseball instead of basketball, would he have been as good as he was? Of course not. If someone doesn't want to do something, then they don't have potential for it. And the story that rebbeim like to tell about living up to potential is the Netziv story. I think most people know what I am talking about, but just in case one is not familiar with it, I will tell it. The Netziv was not such a good student and was not doing well in school. One night his parents were talking and they said they will send him to a carpenter to be an apprentice and he will make a living that way. He heard this and his parents crying and he said to himself that he was going to try harder. He told this story over when he was older at a siyum (I forgot for what). He said that when he would go before Hashem, He would ask "where is the Haamek Davar(the Netziv's work on chumash)?" or "What about all the Gemara's you were supposed to finish?" The Netziv was happy that he lived up to his potential. The question that always bothered me about this story is maybe God is going to ask where all the shtenders and benches he was supposed to build. Why does the Netziv assume he fulfilled his potential? I understand that as long as we are the best Jews we can be, that is all that God asks from us. How do we know exactly what we are supposed to do? Should one be a rebbe or a doctor? Maybe he should be a businessman and support a guy in kollel? Every rebbe I had told this story at least once. Just because one person made a right decision doesn't mean everyone will. Why don't we hear stories about people not living up to their potential? It makes it seem like the Netziv's story is the norm. I doubt it is. Why does Jewish education place so much guilt on the students? That is why I think it is harder for a religious Jew to make a career choice, than a secular American. They don't have the pressure of guilt on their mind.
So if anyone has input on what I should do, please let me know. As always, I welcome all comments.
