When we are little, nothing excites us more than that long awaited birthday. It is a day when we are in the spotlight and everyone’s focus is on us. On this day we feel lucky and empowered.
As many of us get older, that excitement gradually fades away to the point that it becomes a day like any other day. As adults we may no longer feel anything exceptional on our birthdays. We may even see our birthdays in a negative light — after all we are yet another year closer to death.
But this could not be further from the truth!
The Sages of the Land of Israel teach us (Rosh Hashanah) that on one’s birthday a person does not readily fall. Amaleks secret to military success was that they selected people whose birthday was on the day of battle. To take that advantage away from Amalek, Moses had to confound the constellations so that Amalek could not tell what day it is.
The Sages of the Land of Israel teach us that our birthdays are not banal and unremarkable days. On our birthdays we are blessed and endowed with the power of success. It is a time to take advantage of that power and use it to advance ourselves rather than begrudge the future.