A Second is a Lifetime

Leadership is the ability to get men to do what they don’t want to do and like it.

– Harry S. Truman

***

Life is comprised of many moments. There was the moment life began and the moment we took our first step; the moment we stepped on the school bus for the first time and the moment we graduated from kindergarten.

We finish elementary and move on to high school, get married and have children. These are all moments of which we take note. We herald them as milestones. Yet how many moments that we live through have no significance? How many are just lame, empty or even destructive? For many of us, unfortunately, the majority of moments in our lifetimes would probably fall into the latter category.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe, for whom this Tuesday will mark thirteen years since that unforgettable 3rd of Tammuz 1994, teaches the world the power of a moment.

He asked and demanded small seconds and little acts: Teffilin, Shabbat candles, Mezuzah and Matza on Passover. He taught that there is no better time than the present to add light and goodness into this universe; no more auspicious occasion than now to make a 180-degree turn on the course of life. Change your destiny NOW, the Rebbe demanded.

He appreciated the awesomeness of a single second because he appreciated life itself. Life is growth; dead objects don’t grow. Each second is an opportunity to reach for the stars. What was here a mere second ago is now nonrefundable, a loss for all eternity.

The Rebbe never took a vacation – there was simply no time. The Rebbe barely slept – there was just too much to accomplish. Decades after he paid a visit to the first Chabad overnight camp, the Rebbe told one of his students that he was still making up for the lost hours.

One split second was all it took to kill hundreds of thousands with an atom bomb. One instant took down the twin towers. In one minute, a new baby joins the living, and all we have is one fleeting second to say goodbye. With mere choices of words or expressions, relationships are born or terminated - in seconds.

The world began in a moment. Everything begins in a moment. Every moment is a lifetime.

The Rebbe cried: Each moment that we stay in exile is an eternity!

The Rebbe envisioned: Each moment during which Israel talks about concessions for peace will weaken its security.

The Rebbe promised: The moment we will resolve to bring Moshiach, he will come.

And now, the Rebbe pleads with each and every one of us: Use this moment to change the world!

Perhaps this worldview is best expressed by the slogan-turned-song that the Rebbe adopted and encouraged often, with amazing vitality: We Want Moshiach Now!

NOW!

Do something about it:

Catch the moment it will never return!