[Audio clip 1: Rabbi Noach Weinberg]
If you met yourself five years ago, would you be able to teach yourself some things about life?
What to avoid, what to do, how to use your time better?
How about looking at somebody five years older than you? Ten years older than you, twenty years older than you
Do you think that he's learned something about living? Why don't you find out? "What have you got to teach me?"
[Verse 1: Moshe Friedman]
No one would guess it but it’s hard being a young man
Caught up in social lives and working on our sun tan
Out for respect we practice speaking with a clear voice
Still think nothing’s more important than a career choice
Still brash enough to fight for what we know is right
But too impatient to know that change isn’t overnight
Still caught up in all of life’s little problems
Still dumb enough to think that we can solve ‘em
They say we’re in the spring of life and old age is the winter
Cuz no one wants to lose their hair and take pills with their dinner
But what if right now we’re just planting seeds
And only later do we get to see the branch and leaves
And reap the fruits we’ve only dreamed of in our fantasies
While trying to give pack some part of what this planet needs
Some people wish they could go back and be a kid again
But I can’t wait to call myself a senior citizen
[Chorus: Rick Fox]
Well I wish that I had known
When I was young before I’d grown
About the love, about the laughter and the light
But I guess the way it goes
You have to take the things life throws your way
And smile, and keep on trying
[Verse 2: Moshe Friedman]
Of course I didn’t even mention yet
The medicare and the pension checks
The plaid pants and the sweater vests
Guess the end of the rainbow is a veritable treasure chest
So many memories it’s hard for you to choose from
High times and low times, you win some you lose some
But you’ve lived through them, and made it to the other side
From your daughter’s first words to being father of the bride
You wife’s a grandma wearing stockings made of nylon
But she’s still the prettiest thing you’ve laid eyes on
And that wrinkled skin, that smile missing a couple teeth
Only reminds us of that true beauty underneath
And those kids with their modern romance stand no chance
Compared to old lovers who still hold hands and slow dance
They toast the greatest blessing a person can have
Happy fiftieth anniversary Dad
[Chorus]
[Bridge: Moshe Friedman]
Youth offers nothing more than the potential and the promise
While old age comes with pride of everything you’ve accomplished
But illusion’s got us blinded to what we would see
Cuz we value what we are much less than what we could be
That fast paced rat race, the mouse and the cat chase
We all play that game for the chance to make a name
But for all the hype even if my dreams ran wild
I’d still trade it all for one hug from a grandchild
[Chorus]
[Audio clip 2: Dr. Uri Gordon]
As far as I know, in every culture on Earth, youth is described as springtime and summer, and old age is described as winter, yes?
Because, according to them, springtime and summer, the juices are flowing, everything's flourishing, and then you get old and it all freezes over
We see winter as the time when they break the hard ground and put the seeds in, and summer, old age, is when you reap the crop, it's grown already
Ah, that's a whole different view of life
Maturity and the skill of maturity means choosing accurately and right, choosing correctly
When you sit in your bed at night, and you're about to become unconscious for another night, and you can genuinely say that the day was correctly spent - what an exciting moment!
Do you regret the fact that you're getting older?
