Brookwrite

Halfway there

"It is not upon you to complete the task, nor can you desist from it." -- Rabbi Tarfon (from Pirkei Avot)

"It is not upon you to complete the task, but you'll hear about it if you don't." -- Rabbi Telfon, the Great Communicator (from Bava Gump)

"When going from one point to another, if you keep getting halfway there, you will never arrive." -- Zeno, the Paradoxical (of Elea)

"Whoa, we're halfway there; whoa, livin' on a prayer." -- Bon Jovi (with keyboardist David Rashbaum)

"And you know that when the truth is told, that you can get what you want or you can just get old, you're gonna kick off before you even get halfway through..." -- Billy Joel

"Focus on the process of what it takes to be successful." -- Nick Saban

Many things in Jewish history took forty years. Sometimes forty days. Whether days or years, twenty was the halfway point.

Where were the Israelites twenty years into their forty-year nature walk through the Sinai? Up the creek, without a paddle. Or water. Or a boat.

Where was Noah twenty days into his forty day Celebrity Cruise? Lost at sea. Desperately trying to invent the air freshener. Breeding gefilte for future generations, because he'd gotten tired of all other seafood.

Where was Jonah twenty days of warning Nineveh to change their ways or they'd be destroyed? Thinking he was telling a whale of a tale, while they all thought it was just a big fish story.

Where was Moses twenty days into his forty-day stint on Mount Sinai? Taking two tablets to help cure his recurring headache from the Israelites.

Where was Moses twenty days into his second forty-day stint on Mount Sinai? Getting cramps in his writing hand, while waiting for tech support after smashing his tablet from the first trip.

Kings Saul, David, and Solomon each ruled for forty years. Where was Solomon twenty years in? In endless board meetings debating the High Holy Day seating policy for his new Temple.

What were the southern and western parts of the kingdom doing after twenty years of harassment by the Philistines? Pulling out their hair, until twenty years later when Samson grew his hair out.

Did they all know they were exactly halfway there? That they had just as much time ahead of them as behind them before they got where they were going? No. They had no idea when, or if, it would ever change, or end.

If they had known, would it have changed what they did next? Would they have persevered?

Does it matter? It's the difference between working just for the goal, or working for the work itself. Between a means to an end, or the means being an end unto itself and the end being just gravy.

Twenty is the useless age. At twenty, anyone can already vote. Or, at least are allowed to register. They can already drive. Or, at least is allowed to apply for a license. Whether they can actually do these things competently is for historians to decide.

At twenty, people typically haven't graduated from college yet. You can't drink yet, legally.

Did Isaac know at twenty that he was only halfway to getting married? The Torah says very little about what he actually did. Because of contractual dispute, it couldn't mention that he spent those years beta testing jDate.

Where was Jacob after twenty years of working for Laban? Married. Twice. Destined to never get the last, or even next-to-last, word again.

Where was Daniel twenty seconds into bring thrown into the lion's den? He was in a lion's den. With lions. Enough said.

Where are congregants twenty hours into Yom Kippur each year? Looking at their watches, feeling like they're only halfway there.

"We've got to hold on to what we've got. It doesn't really matter if we make it or not. We've got each other, and that's a lot... We'll give it a shot." -- Bon Jovi

Doug Brook is a writer in Silicon Valley who premiered this column in The Southern Shofar in September, 1996, though he still acts like a fifteen year old. To read these or any other past columns, visit http://brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online content, like facebook.com/the.beholders.eye.