Burn Your Boats

So many of us are dreaming to become rabbis, to own our own businesses and be the very best at parenting. We want to be fearless and full of emuna, but the sad truth is, many of us are giving up way to easily and early, and it’s time to stop this and burn our boats.

In the year 1519 Hernán Cortés from Spain defied all odds in conquering the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. He led this daredevil attack with only 600 soldiers who didn’t even wear protective armor.  At the time the area held some of the world’s greatest riches of gold, silver, and Aztec jewels. In addition for 600 years various conquerors attempted and failed to triumph over the area with even greater armies.  How did he succeed?

Upon arriving to the shores of the beach instead of immediately entering into battle, Cortés gathered his men to what the soldiers thought were his orders. Instead he said three words, “Burn the boats.” This directive order forced each of the men to completely commit to victory or perish for if they were to return to their native shores, they would sail back in their enemies boats, not their own.

What separates those who make it and those who don’t are the ones with total dedication, who let go of excess comforts, excuses and work hard to better themselves. Do you remember the infamous story of Israeli Major Roi Klein, who in 2006 jumped on a grenade to save his soldiers while saying the “Shema Yisrael” prayer? He had a saying, “Tough is good!” We all need to take a lesson from this and remember, when we are uncomfortable, it means we are growing, and when we are kicking back and wasting time, you know that you are losing the game.

Rabbi Noach Weinberg of blessed memory would say that if you ask someone ‘Do you want to be great?” Everyone answers in the affirmative, but when you show him all the steps and challenges along the way, he says “I don’t feel like it.” Later on he would ask, “So you want to be mediocre?” Naturally, they denied, but knew that for the current moment this was their reality, accepting mediocrity.

We have to understand that real pleasure comes with “pain and discomfort” what we will call exertion against laziness and procrastination. As Rav Weinberg would put it, the world is so confused about the differences between pleasure and pain. Most of the world thinks pleasure is a massage or a chocolate fondue, which aren’t bad things but it’s not pleasure says the Rav, it’s comfort! There is a world of difference. Can you think of things in your own life that you consider “pleasurable” but might be really holding you back? Maybe it’s seeing too many movies or spending too much time with your computer or it could be something like oversleeping. Try to list three examples from your own personal life.

Real pleasure, is when you respond to your kids calmly and not yell at them. Real pleasure is when you can be honest and admit that you are wrong, real pleasure is facing your fears and making Aliyah. But what do all of these pleasurable experiences share? One word – PAIN.

Judaism itself can’t stand stagnation as we are instructed by the Hashem to appreciate the Torah as if we received it today. Freshness, renewal, rejewvenation. Every person must look and assess where they are. What is holding you back?

If you have a tendency to get angry, it hurts when you are working on it. You are taking the time to read “The Trail to Tranquility” by Rav Lazer Brody or Garden of Education by Rabbi Shalom Arush instead of surfing fakebook, sorry Facebook. You are listening to CD’s like “Education with a Smile” or “The Family Connection” instead of your best of the 90’s mix that you have on your iPhone. You are doing things that your body doesn’t want at first, but which your soul is craving for, improvement.

It’s like exercise, you might have a good few workouts and then suddenly be in a situation where you are faced with a challenge to skip a day or not. It’s late, you’re tired, you need to work the next day etc. etc. Those that have experienced the thrill of fighting through the pessimism to give up, and finish that grueling workout, have reached their higher calling and gained victory over what was “comfy and cozy.”

In that moment, you crown Hashem. You went above your natural tendency and rose to your true nature, the level of the soul. Now think about three situations where you feel you need to elevate higher. What’s your plan? What needs to change? Burn your boats.