«Iron is sharpened by iron, and people are shaped by other people.»

Proverbs, the Jewish Book of Wisdom 27:17

When the Lord decided to create humankind, He created a couple—Adam and Eve. Our lives are not meant to be lived in solitude! Every person needs relationships and interaction with others; without them, we literally begin to wither away. In our interactions with acquaintances and friends, we experience joy, share our experiences and struggles, learn about the lives of others, and realize that we are not alone. That is precisely why our lives have become more challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic, and why our interactions, conversations, gatherings, and prayers for one another—as the Etz Chaim community—have become all the more important.          

There is another important process that takes place only in our relationships and interactions with other people. The Bible calls this «refining.» We all have a tendency to be satisfied with ourselves in virtually any situation. Even a person who makes terrible decisions, hates others, does evil, and lives in rebellion against the Creator is capable of justifying himself by saying, «I’m a good person.» We have blind spots that we don’t notice or don’t want to acknowledge, even if they cause distress to us and our loved ones. Who will help us turn our blind spots into conscious mistakes and, by correcting our lives, continue to grow as individuals?

Of course, only other people. Such conversations won’t always be pleasant, but they’re essential for our growth. A person who is closed off to such conversations, who has isolated themselves in self-sufficiency, is like a dull axe that has become a prop on the wall of a workshop—it has lost its purpose and has not been in the craftsman’s hand for a long time. But this can be remedied if it is properly sharpened. So, which people in your life do you allow to tell you the truth, and whose opinions do you listen to?