RABBI DONIEL FRANK | Director, M.A.P. Seminars, Inc., Marriage and Family Therapist

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It’s conventional wisdom that one shouldn’t mess with success. But, as with every rule of thumb, there are exceptions. What is the exception to this rule?

Moshe starts Sefer Devarim with a historical review of the forty years in the desert as a way to rebuke the people before he dies. He begins by saying that Hashem had told them, after their long encampment at Sinai, that they have been there long enough, and that they were to turn and travel on towards the Emori mountains. This paraphase is based on the simple translation of the words rav lachem.. enough for you. It is considered the simple translation because, with it, the words flow very well. The reason it was time to move on was that they had been there for a very long time.

But Rashi also quotes a midrash that explains rav lachem to mean, “You have gotten much distinction and reward for having dwelled in this mountain. You made a mishkan with its implements, you’ve received the Torah, and you’ve appointed members of Sanhedrin. You have achieved so much.â€

This explanation, unlike the simple one, creates problems with the flow of the posuk. After all, how does the idea of achieving so much segue into turn and travel on? Achieving so much is not a reason to move on, but rather a reason to stay! We’d understand it if the command to move on was “in spite†of those achievements, not “because†of them. After all, there’s the adage of not messing with success!

So what does the Torah mean?

The Maharal asks this question and, I believe, his answer can be explained as follows.

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It’s true that when one is doing well, it’s usually appropriate to stay the same course. But there comes a certain point in time, known as the point of diminishing returns, when we’ve exhausted the potential available to us at a certain place or stage of life. At that point, staying on invites a real risk of regression. That’s because we’re always moving, and if we’ve reached the ceiling where there is no more room to go upwards, we’re likely to retreat downwards.

In the desert, the decision was clear. Hashem certainly had the authority and knowledge to know with absolute certaintly that we got as much as we would from Sinai and, therefore, it was fitting that we turn and move on with our journey towards Eretz Yisroel.

But without that clarity, it’s hard to identify when we’ve gotten the most that we could. We’ve got to keep a careful eye on this point of diminishing returns in all areas of our lives – whether to stay in one school or move to another; whether to switch jobs, careers, or communities; and even whether to embrace the next stage that awaits us in life.

But even once we identify that point, it’s not always easy to move on. That’s why many of us are at risk of being biased towards the rule of not messing with success because it helps us avoid the discomfort of change. But we know that if we want to keep growing and get stronger and better, and to get even mores successful than we already are, then we have to have the courage to make the call, make that move… and mess with success!

DEDICATED TO A REFUAH SHELAIMA FOR YITZCHAK ben DEVORAH

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