Read the two texts either aloud or to yourself. After you are done reading, each person should speak for 3-4 minutes about how they perceive their legacy in light of one or both of the texts below.
After each person has had an opportunity to speak uninterrupted, give yourself some time for discussion.
“One day Choni was going on the road, and he saw a certain man planting a carob tree.
Choni said to him: “How many years does it take for this carob tree to bear fruit?”
He said to Choni: “Seventy years.”
Choni said to him, “Is it clear to you that you will live another seventy years?”
He replied to Choni: “This man found a world containing carob trees. Just as my ancestors planted for me, so too, I plant for my children.”
Choni sat down and ate bread; drowsiness overcame him, and he fell asleep. An outcropping of rock arose around him as he slept. He became hidden from sight and slept for seventy years. When he arose, he saw what looked like that same man picking some of the fruit from that carob tree he had planted!
Choni said to him: “Are you indeed the man who planted this tree?”
He replied: “I am his grandson.” (Talmud, Ta’anit 23a)
Excerpt From: Rabbi Rachel Cowan. “Wise Aging.”
“We admire people who are wealthy, famous, or skillful in some way, but it is not too hard to be like that. If you are born with some talent, and a little luck, and know the right people, you can do that. Many people do that. But much more difficult and much more wonderful is to be a bodhisattva [one whose life is devoted to uplifting the lives of others]. Not someone that many people know about and talk about but someone who has the almost magical power of spreading happiness and confidence wherever (they) go. What a vision for your life, for your family, to be a light for those around you. To think of everything you do, every action, every social role, every task, as being just a cover for, an excuse for, your real aspiration, to spread goodness wherever you go. This requires no luck (even if everything goes wrong in your life, you can do it), no special skills, no need to meet special people and get special breaks. We can all do this."
(Norman Fischer)
Excerpt From: Rabbi Rachel Cowan. “Wise Aging.”