I was alerted to a very fascinating study. Caitlin Mahy invited 90 children to her lab and she showed them a photo of some pretzels and a glass of water and asked them which they’d prefer to have now. As expected nearly all the children said they’d prefer pretzels. The children were then given a bucket of pretzels to eat as they listened to a children’s story that took about six minutes.
Next Mahy asked the children to imagine that they were coming back to the lab tomorrow, and to say whether they’d prefer water or pretzels during the story. The vast majority of children said they’d prefer water tomorrow, presumably because their current state was that they were feeling thirsty. Finally, the children were offered a drink of water and the question about tomorrow was repeated. Having quenched their thirst, most of them now said once again that they’d prefer pretzels tomorrow, contradicting the answer they’d given moments earlier. There was no evidence that the older children were any better at thinking about their future preferences than the younger children.
She concluded that it seems that the ability to mentally time travel and think in sophisticated ways about our future needs does not emerge until sometime after age 7. However, the ability to make creative excuses like a seasoned politician seems to come quite naturally much earlier! Adults seem, in various degrees to possess “episodic foresight”. You are able to look beyond your current physical state (extreme thirst) to anticipate being in a different state in the future, and thus plan accordingly. Whereas young children, up to the age of seven, mostly can’t discount their current states when anticipating their future wants.
This ability to be long sighted is one of the key character traits of our forefather Avraham. The Medresh describes Avraham choosing the Land of Israel because it hosted farmers. Farmers are people who are long sighted – their job is totally focused on tomorrow; he must toil today so that in the future he can reap. This mind-set is crucial to Judaism which is a religion that constantly engages our sensual faculties. The antidote to becoming sucked into physicality for the sake of physicality, of unrestrained physical indulgence, of wanting the ‘Wow for Now’ is to be focused on the long term rewards. Grabbing every pleasure that comes our way may be exciting momentarily but will not be long lasting. Only through self-control – through toiling on character refinement will true pleasure be attained.
We read this week that “Avraham planted an ‘eishel’”. The Gemora brings down two explanations; either it means he planted an orchard. Or it means he set up an inn for his guests. If it was an inn that he set up, the term ‘planting’ refers to the setup of tents, where one must drive the tent pegs into the ground – a kind of planting – in order to secure the tent.
If it was an inn why does the verse not say so explicitly? Why use the term ‘eishel’ in place of the straightforward word meaning a hotel? Perhaps the Torah used the ambiguous term to allude to both understandings. But still, why is the setting up of a hotel called “planting”? It should have said he ‘built’ or ‘made’ a hotel?
With our understanding of Avraham – a man focused on the long term, we can readily see why Avraham’s hotel was called an orchard. Every act that Avraham did was a ‘planting’, his acts of looing after the guests were like planting seeds in the ground; the seed is left behind but later will grow. Every day in the blessing before the morning Shema we use the term “planter of righteous acts”. This how we should view are actions. Not in the context of today, but on the long term ramifications. Mitzvahs done today will affect how we live tomorrow, both in this world and ultimately in the reward we amass for the next world. As the Rabbis taught, “he who toils on Friday will have what to eat on Shabbos” and “This world is corridor for the world to come”.
Good Shabbos, Yaakov
