My visits to the hairdresser are never boring. My barber is one of the few people who is never lost for words. His well-rounded knowledge makes him a self-professed expert in almost every topic under the sun. When he speaks, people listen. Well, when strapped in sitting in front of a mirror at the hands of someone armed with a sharp set of blades, you don't have much of an option… As he combed back my head, I grasped in shock. Early signs of a receding hairline on my head were clearly and unmistakably visible. "Oh no!" I cried, "I'm slowly losing my hair! I'm too young for this."

I sighed as I alerted him of this phenomenon, naturally pausing for dramatic effect. For some reason, though, he did not appear to be as perturbed as I was! Maybe, I'm just being more vain, I mused.

Having been reared on a good dosage of musar discipline, the ethical doctrine of self-improvement from my yeshiva days, I was on the lookout for any profound messages - especially in mundane matters - that would readily impact on my personal development.

This was an unequivocal indication of the inevitable aging process and alerting me on the fleeting nature of life.

What life is all about
The traditional wishes after drinking something at an important occasion or celebration is the heartfelt wishes of "L'Chaim, To Life" of Fiddler and the Roof fame. This is much intent within this Jewish equivalent to "Cheers!" It is the recognition of the preciousness of life; how life is the most precious asset man owns. And how man only lives once.

Jewish living revolves around mitzvah observance as the Torah says, "You shall observe My decrees and My laws, which man shall carry out by which he should live -I am G-d" (Vayikra 18:5). Life is synonymous with fulfillment of the mitzvos. The commandments were given for the sake of life because they are related to the essence of man's life - his soul.

The mitzvos are the key to life as a Jew enthusiastically exudes liveliness delighting in the knowledge that every mitzvah is man's connection to G-d and the key to eternal life. Indeed, mitzvah observance cannot contradict the preservation of human life with a Jew instructed to transgress a mitzvah (with the exception of the three cardinal sins) if this results in the ability to prolong life to perform more mitzvos in the future (Yoma 85b). The preservation of life is the greatest mitzvah that a person can be involved in. This is the truest personification of life. It is in this light that one sees the Jewish refusal to earn spiritual life die.

Rabbi Yisrael Salanter learnt from a tailor the message, "So long as the flickering light of man's soul burns within him, he can labor to attain spirituality". Jewish living is forever meaningful with clearly-defined, real and attainable goals revolving around the 613 commandments that govern Jewish law that force us investing our life with purpose and never giving up.

I shall not die
I was fortunate to have a very special primary school teacher. He was a Chasidic Jew who had been through the horrors of Auschwitz and the death camps. There is one thing about him that is etched on my mind: the haunting, unforgettable song he taught us that almost twenty years on, still echoes in my ears. The fullness of the words and the poignancy of meaning carries much more resonance today than they did then.

He would break into song with an emotional-laden tune with the Hebrew verse from Psalms (Tehillim 118:17) "I shall not die! But I shall live and relate the deeds of G-d". Tears would gush forth down from his eyes as the eerie tune would proceed to translate this verse into several different languages…Hungarian, Romanian, Yiddish and English.

He and other Holocaust survivors fought for life. They confronted evil in the face of adversity that threatened to eradicate their existence. But they have tenaciously hung onto life throughout. My teacher's legacy and song was an affirmation from the bitter winters of Auschwitz to the plantation of a new life in England, the Jewish credo with the proclamation "I shall not die!"

The Jew knows that he is not in charge of his own destiny. The verse and song explain why the Jew wants to live, for he yearns, in the words of the Psalmist, "But I shall live and relate the deeds of G-d".

The toast "L'chaim" is the affirmation of the preciousness of life dedicated to mitzvah observance. For too many people, life passes them by. Before they know it, they are looking in the mirror of the hairdresser and are confronted with a receding hairline. But there is so much that still has to be accomplished. There are so many more mitzvah opportunities to perform in the forging an ever-lasting relationship to G-d that permeate every aspect of Jewish living.

Today it is this very preservation and the sanctity of life that is under threat on all fronts. It is being passively attacked by the legalization of euthanasia and abortion in Western society. And in Israel, the lives of precious Jews are being continually violated by their enemies with their wanton disregard to human life - and especially Jewish lives. It is the Jewish people who fully understand what is really means to be truly alive. It is the Jewish people who truly appreciate and actively pursues the sacredness of life. It is they who proclaim aloud the toast: "L'Chaim".

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