The age of thirteen years was not chosen to be the age of religious majority at random. It is true that our habits have changed a great deal, but the age to which you have now attained is still significant. You are standing on the threshold of your life, and more immediately on a most important and exciting part of it, when many of your feelings and attitudes will be determined for the rest of your life. What is more, you are now able to realise what a momentous point you have reached. The young child, like a living plant or animal, takes life for granted; but it is man's supreme achievement that he is able to know himself, and you are reaching an age where you want to know what life is about, and what our aims and ideals should be.
You have probably heard that man is an imitative creature, meaning that he tends to do what the other fellow does. Your are reaching an age where this factor is very prominent, as it is seen in the modes of dress and behavior which teenagers, of which you have just become one, like to adopt. This in itself is natural and harmless enough, but you should never forget that you have a right to be different from the rest if your conscience dictates it. That right is guaranteed to you by several articles in the American constitution, and by ethical and moral authorities which stand even higher. Do not assume that the ideals which the world sets before itself are necessarily right because they are common. We live in a society in which the search for wealth and bodily comforts is the search most often engaged in. Yet these are fleeting things. Many years ago the wise king Solomon said that he who loves silver will never be satisfied with silver (Ecclesiastes, 5.10) meaning that one who is caught in the extremities of the desire for riches will never be happy, though you put in his hand the keys of Fort Knox or the Bank of England, or even Aladdin's cave itself. The same applies to bodily comforts. Every new gadget or device tends to lose its ability to give pleasure, even as it loses its novelty, and even the resources of modern ingenuity cannot fill man's appetite. This is not to say that we should not pray and work for a standard of both wealth and comfort. That is quite legitimate, provided it does not become the only, or even the principal, aim.
What I would recommend to you rather is the search for truth. Now that is a high-sounding phrase, and I want to try to make it meaning ful to you. The ultimate truth is God himself. He does not deceive you or let you down or lead you astray. The paths which lead to him are true paths, and these you must seek. These paths are many; you may catch glimpses of his greatness in great music or great art or great literature; or by studying the wonders of nature as revealed by modern science. You may come to understand his charity by performing charity yourself, and his love of all creatures by loving all creatures yourself. I spoke before about money. Money will let you down; it has a habit of disappearing when you need it most. These things however will not let you down. They will be with you; they will guard you; they will speak to you.
Judaism is mean to help you in your search. The study of Torah has always been the great ideal of Judaism because in the literature of the Bible and the writings of our rabbis of blessed memory you may achieve insights into this truth of which I have been speaking. This does not mean that you could not achieve such insights by studying the great writings of, say, China or India. But the Jewish writings speak to us with especial force, because we are Jews. When they say Jerusalem, we know that it is the city to which our fathers were led; when they say Shabbat we know that it is the day on which we rest and find spiritual refreshment.
It is up to you whether you will choose to be an enlightened Jew or not. The opportunities will offer themselves, and I hope you will take advantage of them. I know that your parents are people with spiritual feelings themselves, and are deeply concerned for your spiritual welfare. I know that they will help you in every way.
Finally may I remind you of a verse which you read to us today:
And you shall keep the words of this covenant, and do them, in order that you may prosper in all that you do.It is our prayer that both the conditions and the promise will be fulfilled in you.
The author of this page is:
Alan D. Corré