大象传媒

From Julia Neuberger Senior Rabbi at the west London Synagogue:

On Sunday, six of us, all in our late 60s, had lunch together. 50 years ago, we started at the same college at Cambridge University, and this was the fiftieth anniversary of our interviews. I remember being so cold that I slept in my coat, hat, gloves and socks!!!!!!

We reflected on some of the food we had- a carrot soup that didn鈥檛 taste of carrots, and, most eccentric, a dessert at lunchtime which was Cheddar cheese served with black treacle! And though we all learned to cook on a gas ring with variable gas pressure, it was only one of us who admitted to not knowing chickens came with giblets in a plastic bag inside. And she cooked the lot!!

One of many great conversations on Sunday was about those of our year who were no longer with us, and how we should celebrate more. I am a passionate believer in that. So Robert Herrick鈥檚 advice to 鈥楪ather ye rosebuds while ye may鈥� seems about right, as does that Latin expression 鈥楥arpe diem,鈥� 鈥楽eize the day鈥�, from the Roman poet Horace.聽 It鈥檚 about seizing the day and enjoying it, not worrying too much about tomorrow, for who knows what it will bring.聽 But that鈥檚 not quite right either. In the Hebrew writings known as the Ethics of the Fathers, the disciples of a Rabbi named Eliezer asked: 鈥淒oes anyone know on which day they will die?鈥� 鈥淥f course not,鈥� he replied. 鈥淭hat being the case, they should repent today, for maybe tomorrow they will die. That way, every day is spent thinking of repentance.鈥�

But, though we don鈥檛 know the future, we do know when we鈥檝e hurt or insulted other people- and we should make amends while we can. We do know about family fallings out and broken friendships- and that we could resolve them and choose to be on good terms. Not knowing what the future holds is one way of encouraging ourselves to get on with it. But the other part is seizing the day to celebrate family and friends, old acquaintance and new, not forgetting birthdays and anniversaries. Our reunion lunch on Sunday was a shot in the arm for me. Life is short. Let鈥檚 not forget to rejoice in friends and family - and let鈥檚 live life as well as we can.