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VAYISHLACH 5786
A Life Lesson from the Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos have the best record in the NFC West—10-2—and the 2nd best record in all of football, but they also lead the league in punts. Punts? A team punts the ball when they can’t get a 1st down and then has to turn the ball over to their opponent. Punting reflects failure and no team has punted more this year than the Broncos. Rabbi Efrem Goldberg takes note of this and writes: “Success isn’t linear. Can’t do everything or score every play. Need to punt when necessary, in order to focus and win.”
As much as we wish life were simple, straightforward and linear, it’s invariably filled with ups and downs, successes and failures, highs and lows. Our instinct is to fight it and resent it. In truth, we should embrace the ride and work to move in the better direction.
Rav Avraham Schorr explains that like an EKG, a straight, flat line means you’re no longer alive. When you’ve flatlined, you’re dead! Only when the line goes up and down, rising and falling, is the heart truly beating. The same is true of our lives—the ups and the downs, the moments of inspiration and the moments of struggle, are all signs that a person is alive and moving. Gd designed the world so that growth happens through cycles, tests, successes and failures, rebuilding. A perfectly smooth life with no challenges might feel easier, but without much growth.
No one has learned this better than Father Jacob. Jacob had a quiet, idyllic early life till his mother ordered him to steal his brother Esav’s blessing from their father Isaac. In an instant, his life is turned upside down. He then has to run from the wrath of brother Esav and is thrust into a cruel, heartless and unforgiving world—fleeing for his life to a faraway land.
He’s welcomed as a prince in Uncle Laban’s house till Laban sees that he’s broke. The red carpet that was rolled out for him is rolled up, and a shepherd’s staff thrust in his hand. He must work for his keep. He worked for 7 years to earn Rachel’s hand in marriage. How romantic! But at the last second Uncle Laban switches in sister Leah. That’s just the 1st scam. Jacob’s defrauded by Laban 10 times changing his wages. After 20 years of this he’s had enough. He returns to the land of his birth only to be confronted by his brother Esav coming with 400-foot soldiers to greet him. Ups and downs.
We are the children of Jacob who Gd called “Israel.” And like Father Jacob, oh have we struggled with our ups and downs over the millennium! On a personal level, who among us hasn’t been victimized, scammed, taken advantage of by people we trusted? Who doesn’t feel, at one time or another, that life is cruel and has done us wrong? Despite every pitfall, Jacob—and we his descendants—have picked ourselves up and moved forward.
King Solomon in Proverbs (24:16) teaches: Sheva yipol tzaddik, v’kam (A righteous person falls 7 times and rises). At 1st glance, it sounds like the tzaddik succeeds despite failure—he rises even though he falls. But the Sages reveal a deeper truth. The righteous person doesn’t rise despite the falls. He rises because of them. Each fall becomes part of the very process that shapes him, enables him to grow and do better.
The founder of Ger Chassidus, Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Rotenberg-Alter, explains: A person gains from a fall what he could never gain from uninterrupted success. lling teaches humility, reveals inner strength, refines character, and creates sensitivity toward the struggles of others. Every stumble forces a person to confront their limitations and renew their relationship with Hashem. In that sense, a fall is not an interruption to growth, but how growth is achieved.
Notice, the verse does not say: “A person falls 7 times, and a righteous person rises.” It says, “A righteous person falls 7 times and rises.” The one who has fallen is referred to as a righteous person. Why? Because he keeps getting up! His identity is defined not by the fall, but by his response to it. The 7 setbacks are not 7 failures; they are the 7 rungs of the ladder that lift him higher than untested success ever could.
Speaking at a Dartmouth graduation, Tennis great Roger Federer put it so well. He noted that in the 1,526 singles matches he played in his career, he won almost 80% of them. Then he asked the assembled crowd: What percentage of the points do you think I won in those matches? Only 54%! In other words, even the greatest who ever played the game win barely more than half the points they play. Federer continued:
When you lose almost every 2nd point, you learn not to dwell on every shot. You teach yourself to think: OK, I double-faulted. It’s only a point. OK, I came to the net and I got passed again. It’s only a point. Even a great shot … an overhead backhand smash that ends up on ESPN’s Top 10 Plays: that, too, is just a point.
Here’s why I am telling you this. When you’re playing a point, it is the most important thing in the world. But when it’s behind you, it’s behind you. This mindset … frees you to fully commit to the next point … and the next one after that … with intensity, clarity and focus.
The truth is, whatever game you play in life … sometimes you’re going to lose. A point, a match, a season, a job … it’s a roller coaster, with many ups and downs. And it’s natural, when you’re down, to doubt yourself. To feel sorry for yourself. And by the way, your opponents have self-doubt, too. Don’t ever forget that. But negative energy is wasted energy.
You want to become a master at overcoming hard moments. That to me is the sign of a champion. The best in the world are not the best because they win every point … It’s because they know they’ll lose … again and again … and have learned how to deal with it. You accept it … and move on. Be relentless. Adapt and grow. Work harder. Work smarter.
In life, we think success means never punting, never losing a point. But the Torah—like an EKG—teaches that a straight line is not the sign of life—it’s the sign of death. Fluctuation, rise and fall, these are the signs of a beating heart. Our missteps and disappointments are not evidence that we’re failing. They’re invitations from Gd to ascend higher. When we rise after falling, we emerge not as who we were, but as someone deeper, wiser, and closer to Hashem.
So, the next time you fall—and you will fall—remember: Your Father Jacob fell and rose many times. The 10-2, 1st-place Denver Broncos have punted more than any team in the league. Roger Federer lost 46% of his points. The tzaddik, the righteous person, falls 7 times. And the EKG only shows life when the line moves up and down.
My friends, your falls don’t disqualify you from greatness. They are the path to it. Don’t fear the fluctuations—embrace them. They mean you are alive, growing, and on a real journey. They mean your heart is still beating. Baruch Hashem! Amen!
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