The Trout calendar with 31 days in February

[RabbiEE]

From my article this week:

Trout Unlimited made a mistake in their 2007 wall calendar. They accidentally gave February 31 days instead of 28. Apparently this innocent error provoked an uproar among some of the more intense fans of the organization. The Trout Unlimited website records e-mail comments like “Learn how to count, you guys are idiots,” and “Yet another in a long line of crimes against humanity perpetuated by you tree huggers.” It sure seems that some people need to relax a bit.


As a response to their mistake, Trout Unlimited is running a contest. They are asking readers to write in and tell how they would spend three extra days in this year. If given this amazing gift of three “free” days, how would you use them? I thought it was a great question and I have a few answers.


For me, the first free day would be a “me” day. I would spend 24 hours doing things I enjoy like fly fishing or biking (the three days do not have to be in February!). Wouldn't it be great to have a full thee days extra of fishing?


It might be tempting to make all three days “me” days. We might want to use them only to do what we want, to make up for all the times we are at work, or taking care of others. But I suspect that at the end of the third day of only thinking only of our own desires, we might feel a little hollow. Rabbi Hillel, who lived 2000 years ago, knew the limits of serving ourselves. That is why he said: “If I am only for myself, what am I?” My three days would only include one dedicated to myself...


Rabbi E