DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS

5 Iyar 5771

פרקי אבות: פרקד, משנה א

בן זומא אומר, איזה הוא חכם--הלמד מכל אדם...  איזה הוא גיבור--הכובש את יצרו...  איזה הוא עשיר--השמח בחלקו...  איזה הוא מכובד--המכבד את הברייות...

Ben Zoma said: Who is one that is wise? One who learns from every person… Who is mighty? One who conquers their impulse to evil… Who is rich? One who is happy with their portion… Who is honored? One who honors the creations, as it says...

Let's Understand the Text

• Why does the mishna say that being rich means you are happy with your portion? 
• How does this connect to not comparing yourself to Others? 
• How can comparing yourself to others lead to evil? (ie jealosuy) 
• How does comparing yourself to others connect to watching our words?

Read the following story and quote and discuss the questions below the Dr. Seuss quote.

The Bragging Dragonfly

By: Margo Fallis

Whizz! Whizz! Whizz! The blue dragonfly whizzed back and forth across the pond. "I’m the most beautiful insect in the glen," Billy said. "I’ve got gossamer wings that look like they belong on a fairy. My body is slender and sleek and I make sounds as I fly around. Ants can’t do that, neither can butterflies." He flew over a ladybug. "Hey, ladybug. Don’t you wish you were as wonderful as me?" The ladybug looked up at him and scoffed. An ant came walking out from behind a rock. "Hey, ant. Look at me! I’m beautiful. You’re an awful boring red color. Too bad you aren’t as great as me," Billy boasted. The ant looked at the dragonfly and shook its head back and forth.

This went on all day long. Billy flew near the fish in the pond. He shouted things at them. He whizzed around the flowers and bragged about himself to the bumblebees andbeetles. One morning Billy flew down to the pond. It was a quiet day. The water was calm. "Oh look! I can see myself in the pond. Don’t I look beautiful? Look at my wings. They’re especially perfect today!"

Farquahard, the fish, stuck his head out of the water and said, "Billy, you’d better stop boasting about yourself. We are all wonderful in our own way. You aren’t better than any of the rest of us."

Billy started to laugh. "Surely you can’t be serious. Just look at me and then look at yourself. You aren’t blue and beautiful. You’re purple and you have scales and you’re slimy."

"I’m a fish. That’s the way fish are!" Farquahard said. He was so angry that he slipped back under the water and disappeared.

Another dragonfly happened to be whizzing by. "Hi Billy," she said. "Do you like to fly down by the pond? It’s dangerous down here."

"What? How could it be dangerous? Don’t be so silly. I come down here every day to see my reflection in the water. Just look at me. You’re looking very…orange….today," he sneered.

Doris looked angrily at Billy. "I am orange and I like it that way. I am the same color as the flowers. You’re not very nice. I’m leaving," she said and flew away.

"Good riddance," Billy said. "There’s only room here for one dragonfly."…

Quote by Dr. Seuss:

Today you are You,

that is truer than true.

There is no one alive

who is Youer than You.

Let's Understand the Text

• How does the story connect to the lesson from the Mishna? (What is bad about bragging?) 
• In what ways do we compare ourselves to others? 
• How does comparing yourself to others affect the way you speak? 
• What is something that makes YOU you?