Ellul Moments – Rabbi David Wolpe

In the mid-1960’s, the renowned sociologist Robert Merton decided to find the origin of the phrase attributed to Sir Isaac Newton: “If I have seen farther, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” The search in his book, On the Shoulders of Giants, takes him through many lands, many fields of learning and many languages (including Hebrew and Jewish scholarship), centuries before Newton lived. 

Merton reminds us that people have always understood that we build on the achievements of those who came before us. Each of us stands on the shoulders of many people throughout time, but especially, as you will so often read in these pages, on our teachers, parents, family, friends and, sometimes, a stranger who uplifts us. 

We cannot be certain who was the first person to speak these words. Perhaps a Philistine child coined it atop Goliath before he was felled by David. However, we can be sure what it calls us to do. First, to be grateful and to remember those who hoisted us up so that we could see. And to pay them tribute by ensuring that our enhanced view of the landscape of life moves us to live with greater wisdom and deeper love.