By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER<\/p>\n
In 1895, Rudyard Kipling wrote his celebrated poem, \u201cIf.\u201d I heard it recited many times throughout my childhood:<\/p>\n
<\/noscript><\/a>\u201cIf you can keep your head when all about you \/ Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; \/ If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, \/ but make allowance for their doubting too; \/ ….If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, \/ Or walk with kings, nor lose the common touch, \/ ….Yours is the Earth and everything that\u2019s in it, \/ And \u2013 which is more \u2013 you\u2019ll be a Man, my son!\u201d<\/p>\n[*Note citation of Psalms 24:1 \u2013 \u201cYours is the Earth….\u201d]<\/p>\nOver 600 years earlier, Rabbi Moses Nachmanides (Ramban) offered similarly poetic paternal guidance to his son, Nachman, identifying steps to be taken in becoming a good man and a pious Jew. His \u201cIggeret\u201d (letter\/epistle) opens with a biblical verse: \u201cHeed, my son, the instruction of your father; do not forsake the teaching of your mother\u201d (Proverbs 1:8). <\/p>\nRamban emphasizes the virtue of humility: \u201cOnce you have distanced yourself from anger, the quality of humility will enter your heart….\u201d<\/p>\n\u201c…Always regard yourself as standing before God…. Study Torah diligently…. Concentrate on your prayers….\u201d<\/p>\nRamban instructed Nachman to read his letter weekly, assuring him of divine recompense: \u201cGod will answer you in all you ask.\u201d<\/p>\nIf only!<\/p>\nRabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the editor of \u201cMasorti: The New Journal of Conservative Judaism.\u201d The latest edition of Masorti published in the summer of 2026 and honors the American Sestercentennial. A subscription is $18 per annum. Print copies are available from Ben Yehuda Press and Amazon.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/noscript><\/a>
[*Note citation of Psalms 24:1 \u2013 \u201cYours is the Earth….\u201d]<\/p>\n
Over 600 years earlier, Rabbi Moses Nachmanides (Ramban) offered similarly poetic paternal guidance to his son, Nachman, identifying steps to be taken in becoming a good man and a pious Jew. His \u201cIggeret\u201d (letter\/epistle) opens with a biblical verse: \u201cHeed, my son, the instruction of your father; do not forsake the teaching of your mother\u201d (Proverbs 1:8). <\/p>\n
Ramban emphasizes the virtue of humility: \u201cOnce you have distanced yourself from anger, the quality of humility will enter your heart….\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c…Always regard yourself as standing before God…. Study Torah diligently…. Concentrate on your prayers….\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramban instructed Nachman to read his letter weekly, assuring him of divine recompense: \u201cGod will answer you in all you ask.\u201d<\/p>\n
If only!<\/p>\n
Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the editor of \u201cMasorti: The New Journal of Conservative Judaism.\u201d The latest edition of Masorti published in the summer of 2026 and honors the American Sestercentennial. A subscription is $18 per annum. Print copies are available from Ben Yehuda Press and Amazon.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/noscript><\/a>
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