You Are Not Required To Complete The Work, But Neither Are You Free To Stop Doing It

Rabbi Tarfon

In The Ethics of the Fathers, Rabbi Tarfon is said to have uttered this profound dictum:

“You are not required to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.”

The Rabbi’s focus was on the observance of the Torah, but I, of course, have little interest in that. I am certain that most of you feel the same way. How, then, can this quote be meaningfully applied to our own lives?

Before we can get to you, let’s start with me. For a few months, I have meditated on the idea of prioritizing the journey over the destination itself, an idea I have found especially useful when reading. Every single page counts; I should not rush to the end of the book. In fact, it is the journey, drudging through each page of a particularly boring chapter, that tends to make the ending worthwhile.

This idea has, however, proven insufficient to power me through certain books. I needed something more, and I’m glad to say Rabbi Tarfon may have provided. I am not required to complete a book, but neither am I free to stop reading. When faced with countless dull chapters, I have two options:

1.       Keep reading that book; or

2.       Read another book.

I am not permitted, however, to enter into a reading slump. The work is unfinished: there are still books to be read. What right have I to desist?

How may this apply to you? Well, you are not required to complete a book, but neither are you free to stop reading. You are not required to reach your goals, but neither are you free to stop pursuing them. For the Christian, you are not required to be perfect right now, but neither are you free to stop pursuing perfection.

You are not required to complete the work, but neither are you free to stop doing it.