Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Nine billion isn't enough?

Adolf Merckle killed himself. What a baby. He's only what, one of the hundred richest people in the known universe. Sure, he lost 3 billion dollars recently, but come now, what is that between friends? He still had another 9 billion to tide him over in his old age. Heck, he's already in his seventies, how much does he need to pay for his nursing home already? Oh, correct you are, his round the clock nurse. My bad. Seriously, he couldn't deal with the pressure? Yeah, life is tough. We all sometimes feel like giving up. But we don't, do we? Or at least, most of us don't. So what made Mr. Merckle decide to end it all? I just don't get it.
When I was a mere mite of a bochur at the Lubavitch Yeshiva of Minnesota-Wexler Learning Institute, then housed at Shalom Home East, Rabbi Manis Friedman came and gave a talk to the boys. For some reason he talked about suicide, and why it was the most selfish act a person could do. I'm not sure why he picked this topic specifically; perhaps the Vikings had just been knocked out of the playoffs, I really don't know. Actually, I do know that that was certainly not the reason, because the Vikings failed to make the playoffs in any of the years I was in yeshiva. I just wanted to make Vikings fans feel even worse than they are already.
Be that as it may, Rabbi Friedman elaborated and pointed out that generally, a person takes his own life (where does he tale it?) because he can't deal anymore. His life was supposed to be really great, but now it stinks, and it's just not worth living anymore. No matter that he's causing pain to the people around him, because all that matters is himself.
Additionally, he's denying the existence of G-d by thinking that he is what counts. The truth is that he doesn't count at all, it's G-d who counts. And he didn't put you into this world to be happy either. He put you here to work. Hard. So yeah, of course it's hard. Why else are you living? And now you failed miserably? You want to abort the video game? Guess what buddy, it's not yours to abort. If you're still alive, you still have work to do. And yeah, it's tough.
Look at this rich guy who just got himself rolled over by a train. He had it all. Besides maturity. He didn't get that life isn't money. Or honor. Or power. If it was, then most people on this little earth of ours would have no purpose. But they do have a purpose. How do I know that? Because they're here. Circular reasoning perhaps, but it works for me. And it's not like he was a pauper either. Look at Donald Trump. He lost all his money, and yet he managed to get it all back, and then some. Look at the guy from "Rich Dad, Poor Dad". He lost it all. Did he call it quits? No, he figured out what he was doing wrong and changed his game. He didn't act like the world owed him anything. He didn't think that he was the most important thing in the world either. He didn't love himself so much that when things got bad he quit. Because that's what babies do.

12 comments:

le7 said...

I was reading this while waiting for Rabbi Friedman to come in. Yeah. Intelligent comment.

Just like a guy said...

I don't suppose you told him what it said?

le7 said...

Not yet.

Just like a guy said...

All right-sieze the bull by the horns, tell him, and report back ASAP.

le7 said...

I don't know where he is right now, I actually need to find him,

Just like a guy said...

That last comma says it all...

le7 said...

It shows that I can't type.

Just like a guy said...

And here I was, being dan l'kaf zechus.

le7 said...

Although since everything is HP (no I don't mean Harry Potter or Hewlett Packard), my comma was significant on a subconscious level...

Just like a guy said...

But of course.

Cheerio said...

"that's what babies do" - have you ever seen a baby quit? observe your tiny relations a bit closer. they will reach, lift, stretch, cry, etc, etc for-freakin-ever.
other than that minor metaphorical difficulty (or is it a simile?), everything else you wrote was on the mark.
of course, it was Manis. how could it not be?

Just like a guy said...

Metaphorical babies quit.