Don’t ‘Follow the Footprints of the Sheep’, Exactly

He said that salt is a preservative, and it preserves the past. Lot’s wife turned around, she turned wistfully to her past in Sedom when she should have been focused on the gift she was given, the opportunity of spiritual growth. That was the worst thing she could have done at that moment.I think his idea is excellent. It’s obviously true in the case of Lot’s wife, who was leaving the depraved lifestyle of Sedom. But to some extent, it is true for everyone, even those that have a glorious past and live a Torah life. Our past informs and gives direction to our lives, but like all living things, we have to adapt to new circumstances. We have to think about what we can do in the future. Don’t stagnate, move forward.  Even Avraham Avinu was told Lech Lecha, and Rav Ahron Kotler, in his sefer, talks about life being l’maala l’maskil.  Move forward and move upward, or fall – retain what is good of your past, and use it as a stepping stone to your future.

I’ve used that idea in many speeches, sometimes to the annoyance of Bnei Torah who dislike quoting a goy and/or dislike the idea in general.  I quote either Basho or Jaurès:

Matsuo Basho, a Japanese poet/philosopher.
Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought.
or
Seek not to follow in the footsteps of men of old; seek what they sought.

Then, similar, from Jean Jaurès, a French socialist politician and a defender of Dreyfus:
“Être fidèle à la tradition, c’est être fidèle à la flamme et non à la cendre”
“To be faithful to tradition is to be faithful to the flame and not to the ashes”

Jaurès’ words were paraphrased by Mahler as
“Tradition ist die Weitergabe des Feuers und nicht die Anbetung der Asche.”
“Tradition is the handing down of the flame and not the worshipping of ashes”.

(Rav Lau talks about this combination of fidelity to the past and adapting to new circumstances in his biography, quoting his father in law about the dual meaning of Ya’azove. I posted it in a drasha for a Sheva Brachos.)