GDP & GJP Growth Trends
“2.2% Gross Domestic Product” in glaring red letters was the headline that faced me this morning. Economists, politicians and pundits are hard at work discussing why the GDP is slowing down. Is it the President’s fault or is it Congress’s fault, is it due to Europe or is it the gas prices, or is it some other factors which haven’t helped the GDP grow and yet worse have caused it to shrink and keep this economy at a slow growth pace.
I am not an economist or a politician so I will leave the speculating to the experts, but I thought I would talk about the GJP instead, as that is within my field. While there are no headlines announcing this, I think that the GJP is growing at a great percentage rate and you and me can make sure that the GJP continues its current growth trends. Oh, I forgot to mention that GJP stands for Gross Jewish Product.
Judaism does not advocate flat growth or stagnation, as usually it can translate into a recession or a boring monotonous Jewish life. Instead, Judaism encourages us to incrementally grow in who we are, to find new areas in our life which we can improve, in which we can add in spirituality, and in which we can add in our Gross Jewish Product. It is in doing so, that not only are we living a meaningful Jewish life, but in turn it makes it more fun, more livable, and more likeable.
I once heard a description of someone who had climbed up an extremely tall mountain and was asked by a friend of mine “if when he reached the top he could sit back and relax for a few hours”? His response was that, “no way, once he reached the top they had to carry on moving or else they would lose their momentum and possibly begin to freeze”. In a certain sense, this epitomizes life and our individual journeys as Jews. We cannot come to a standstill or reach a peak and stay there, instead we must seek to grow and incorporate meaning and purpose in to how we live our lives.
As mentioned last week, we find ourselves in the midst of the counting of the Omer, when we are reminded each day to make a small incremental improvement in who we are. So let me take this opportunity to wish everyone success in their GJP levels and at the same time wish America great GDP levels.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Yisroel Freeman