Yaakov Raskin | Are you existing or living?

At moments when many people pause to reflect on their lives, their direction, and the year ahead, it is worth asking a deeper question: Are we merely existing, or are we truly living?

In Jewish tradition, the weekly Torah reading is often used as a lens through which to reflect on life and society, much like a proverb or parable. This week’s portion is called Vayechi, which means “and he lived”. Yet it describes the final years of the biblical patriarch Jacob, who lived in Egypt, a place of uncertainty and challenge. The name itself seems puzzling. How could life in such circumstances be described as true living?

The answer lies not in geography but in values. Before settling his family, Jacob made sure there would be learning, moral direction, and responsibility at the centre of their lives. Even in a difficult environment, life remained purposeful. That is what transformed survival into living.

This idea speaks powerfully to our time. Many people today are busy, productive, and outwardly successful yet feel disconnected or unfulfilled. Days pass in routine: work, obligations, constant noise, endless distraction. Life becomes something to manage rather than something to inhabit. That is existence. Not life.

There is a striking teaching from Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi. He once told a struggling individual, “Do not ask, ‘What do I need?’ Ask, ‘Where am I needed?’”

That shift changes everything. A life centred only on personal need slowly turns inward. A life guided by responsibility opens outward. When a person stops asking what they can get from the world and starts asking what the world needs from them, life begins to feel alive.

LIFE AS RESPONSIBILITY

I saw this clearly after Hurricane Melissa. There were days when electricity was unreliable, water had to be trucked in, and plans changed constantly. One afternoon, a volunteer who had already worked a full day stopped by and simply asked, “Who needs help right now?” He stayed for over an hour, doing whatever was needed, and left quietly. Later, he told me, “That was the best part of my day.” Those were not easy days, but in moments like that, people were not just surviving. They were alive.

Torah understands this well. It does not define life as comfort or control but as responsibility. From the beginning, Torah places human beings in an unfinished world and gives them a role in shaping it. That is why Jacob’s years in Egypt are described as Vayechi. Even in a difficult place, his life had direction because it was guided by values.

In Jewish thought, one of the most universal expressions of this idea is found in the Seven Laws of Noah, a moral framework meant for all humanity. These principles speak about justice, respect for life, honesty, responsibility, and compassion. They are not rituals or labels. They are foundations for how people are meant to live together.

A life shaped by these values is not merely endured, it is lived. When people act with integrity, care for others, respect boundaries, and take responsibility for their actions, life gains depth and meaning even when circumstances are difficult.

NOT MEASURED ONLY BY YEARS LIVED

Here in Jamaica, this understanding comes naturally. Our culture knows the difference between simply getting through the day and truly living. After hardship, people rebuild more than buildings. They rebuild spirit. Community comes together. Music returns. Neighbours look out for one another. These are signs of people choosing life even when it would be easier to retreat.

Across cultures and faiths, the message is similar. When values, compassion, and responsibility are present, life expands. When they are absent, even comfort can feel empty.

As people reflect on the days ahead, perhaps the most meaningful question is not how much more we will do but how we will live. What values guide my choices when no one is watching? Where am I needed right now? What small act of responsibility could turn an ordinary day into a meaningful one?

Torah does not ask us to escape the world in order to live fully. It teaches us how to bring purpose into the life we already have, one choice at a time.

Vayechi reminds us that life is not measured only by years lived but by how present and purposeful we are within them.

May we all choose not just to exist but to truly live.