By the Grace of G‑d
Dear Friends,
Today, you will hold in your hand an envelope that will dictate the course of the next few years, and, in many ways, the direction of your future career. I look forward to celebrating that moment together but for now, with the envelope still closed, I’d like to share a thought.
Today is the culmination of years of work. Not just the years here at Einstein, or even the pre-med years. For many, becoming a doctor has been a life-long endeavor. But what is this field, this pursuit: doctor?
Perhaps in your minds eye through the years it has taken many forms. You may have had one discipline of medicine in mind throughout or you may have toyed with the idea of several. Within each field there are many niches and you may see a different part as ‘your thing’ at different times.
Today, with the ambiguity of the match ahead of us, let’s focus on one part of medicine that has certainly always been on your mind but today perhaps frames it best – medicine is less about us and more about what life hands us. Less about us, and more about who we are here for.
In the years we spent here together, as much as Tamar and I felt we were in the presence of dedicated, studious and intelligent students - there was a much-more prevalent feeling: that we were amongst a group of generous, caring and compassionate students who devoted all of this time and effort to be there for others.
In a few months, at graduation, we will celebrate the completion of your growth and education. Today, when you anticipate your mandate, let’s celebrate your consideration, your empathy and the commitment to be there for others that is the backbone of who you are and what you strive to be.
Let’s try to freeze this moment, this feeling, in order that no matter where your career takes you, and how successful you grow to be, you continue to see each day and in each patient, not the subject of your skills, but rather the window to who and what you will be.
As bitter-sweet as this moment is, Tamar and I wish each and every one of you the best of luck in the match and we hope that you go to the program that you truly wish for, and which will bring out the best in you.
Warmly,
Rabbi Zalman
