By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel
CHULA VISTA, California — Retirement is becoming a more distant dream for a rising number of older Americans, largely because they need the money but also because they are healthy enough to keep working.
The percentage of 65-plus women who are working jumped more than 4 percentage points to 12.5%. Men in the same category rose 3.2 percentage points to 20.8%. For workers younger than 65, women increased 1.9 percentage points to 69.8%, while younger men’s participation dropped 5.2 points to 78.2%.
“The data reflect a national economy relying increasingly on older Americans — especially women — working part time,” says retired RAND Corp. demographer Peter Morrison.
And that’s good, he says.
•· “Older workers with earnings bolster payments into Social Security, have more discretionary income as consumers and offer employers flexibility to staff up with part-time workers bringing a lifetime of work experience,” Morrison says.
More than 44% of workers 65 and older worked full time year-round. More men than women do: 49% of older men vs. 38% of women.
The Torah has much to say about this phenomenon we are witnessing today in our country.
At an age when most senior citizens would opt for a comfortable retirement, Abram receives his calling. If we were able to ask some of Abram’s contemporaries, we might expect to hear :Who would ever have imagined that an “oldster” named Abram” was destined to become “the father of many of peoples” (cf. Gen 17:20; 21:13)?
On the other hand, greatness does not have to be measured arithmetically but also in terms of influence. Indeed, historically Israel has never been a large populous nation, yet the world would look radically different were it not for the presence of this tiny, but most significant nation. One man, one dream, one family can change the course of history.
As you can see, one man can make a difference. There is an old famous story about the Opter Rebbe who once told his followers, that when he was a young idealist man, he wanted to change the world. As he got older, he discovered that he couldn’t change the world, so he set out to change his community. But alas, this too proved to be too difficult. Years later, now he was a family man, and so he decided to change his family. But even this proved to be too difficult. Finally, he looked in the mirror and said, I can only change” myself”
But herein lies the secret. When we change ourselves, we change the world. The power of one can change the many. We are not insignificant. Were this not the case, people would never be able to distinguish themselves from the masses.
One of the reasons Abraham is the founder of the Jewish people, is because he is sometimes referred to as, “Evri” – (“Hebrew”) “one who comes from the other side of the Euphrates River.” Yet, our Sages teach us that Abraham is called an Evri because he stood up against authoritarianism. He is not daunted by the spectacle of power. Abraham stands apart because of the strength of his convictions against the MANY who told him he could not make a difference.
Midrashic lore tells many stories how young Abraham stood up to tyrants and affirmed his faith to a disbelieving world.
Abraham teaches all of us that there is a time when we must stand up to be counted.
Let me illustrate this point with a brief anecdote.
Some years ago, Premier Khrushchev was speaking before the Supreme Soviet and was severely critical of the late Premier Stalin. While he was speaking someone from the audience sent up a note: “What were you doing when Stalin committed all these atrocities?”
Khrushchev shouted, “Who sent up that note?” Not a person stirred. “I’ll give him one minute to stand up!” The seconds ticked off. Still no one moved.
“All right, I’ll tell you what I was doing. I was doing exactly what the writer of this note was doing‑‑exactly nothing! I was afraid to be counted!”
Abraham was different. He was not afraid to stand alone from the world.
Totalitarianism fears the power of the One.
It strives hard to make everyone alike regardless of the cost. Modern totalitarianism can be sophisticated in its techniques, but its aim to amass power is unscrupulous. In a manner of speaking, our democracy is being sorely tested. Will the many trample over the power of the one? In terms of our election, no victory can really be ceded until the absentee ballots are counted. The power of the one must be respected.
The power of just one man, can sometimes affect the fate of the many. As Jews, we should never get depressed because we are a small people. Greatness is never measured quantitatively, but rather it is measured qualitatively. It is hard to imagine how the world would look were it not for Abraham’s will and desire to make a difference.
As Abraham’s seed, we must contain the same potential for greatness. But to change the world, we must first begin with changing ourselves, in terms of our thoughts, our words, and our deeds. One might seem like an insignificant number, but we know throughout history the power of One can indeed change and better the world, or conversely, bring the world to the edge of the abyss–as attested by the mass-murderers of the 20th century.
Abraham believed that he could change the world—and paradoxically he did—more than he could ever have dared possible.
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Rabbi Samuel is spiritual leader of Temple Beth Shalom in Chula Vista. He may be contacted at michael.samuel@sdjewishworld.com