Wednesday, January 23, 2013

למות תוצאות and Election Day

I don't really have the idea polished and clear, just I feel there's a jewel in the rough somewhere in this:

למות תוצאות תניא נמי הכי תשע מאות ושלשה מיני מיתה נבראו בעולם שנאמר למות תוצאות תוצאות  בגימטריא הכי הוו --- ברכות ח א

Why should death be related to the word תוצאות though? What's the connection?

Taking from the modern hebrew usage of תוצאות as "results" (as in "election results" - תוצאות בחירות) I think it can be understood. Being fixated in life on "results" and not living and acting as a form of one's own self-expression regardless of to what the degree the external world gives you a standing ovation or ostracizes you and labels you as a nut. That's the recipe for death. That's how you die. לא עליך המלאכה לגמור , the journey and not the destination, the process and not the result.

Given the above, voting in an election is not about "results", it's not purely about voting as a means of getting into office the people you want. It's about expressing what you want and who you would want - regardless of whether that self-expression will be accepted by the rest of the world or not; regardless of the final election; regardless of the תוצאות.

למות תוצאות.


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