As we travel through עשרת ימי תשובה, we are charged: ״אל תתייאש״.
The term יאוש is typically translated as “despair”. Just as the owner of a fine piece of jewelry would despair, were it to be swept away in a flood, so too are we inclined to despair, when repeated failures and setbacks erode our self-confidence.
Hence, we are reminded אל תתייאש - don’t give up, maintain a stiff upper lip, keep trying.
What is less well known is that יאוש shows up not only as the despair that accompanies material loss and/or personal failure; it also occurs when we discount our sense of responsibility to others.
Rashi in Eruvin (32a) uses the term יאוש when pondering whether we can rely on a שליח to fulfill his mission. According to Rashi, when a שליח senses that the person who appointed him isn’t actually relying on him, he is מייאש and consequently doesn’t complete his שליחות.
In this context, יאוש occurs when we believe no one is counting on us, when we sense that neither we nor our choices matter.
Here too the message of אל תייאש is relevant: We are being charged to recognize the ways that we matter to our family, to our community, and to Hashem. I would hope that each of us can discover how, in some fashion, our choices matter, our attention matters, our loving connection matters.
In short, the dictum אל תתייאש doesn’t simply warn us not to despair of succeeding; it prods us not to lose our sense of mission and meaning: Please recognize all the people and places where you matter. They are, in fact, counting on you.
In reciprocal fashion, אל תתייאש levies an expectation upon those who head families, organizations, and communities: “Please ensure that each and every member of your group is in a position to find purpose and mission. Those whom you lead may be responsible not to be מייאש; you are responsible to support their quest for meaning.”
Glossary of Hebrew terms:
עשרת ימי תשובה: Ten days of repenting
אל תתייאש: Don’t give up
יאוש: Giving up
שליח: Messenger/agent
שליחות: Mission
Photo Credit: Kristin Snippe: Unsplash