In this week's section, Chaiei Sara (The Life of Sarah), there is a striking verse that, at first glance, doesn't seem to have a lesson. The verse reads (Genesis 24:1), "Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years." Rashi explains that this verse is an introduction to the story that follows, when Abraham decides to send Eliezer back to his homeland to find a wife for Isaac. When Abraham realized he was already old, he understood the need to ensure the continuity of his traditions and values.
On the other hand, the Midrash tells us that there are people who are old but not yet of old age, and vice versa, people who are of old age but not old, which refers to a person's maturity. However, what kind of praise is it to say that Abraham was mature? Is that all there is to say about him?
Our sages explain that an elder (zaken in Hebrew) is one who has acquired wisdom (Ze sheKana Chochmá), while "coming in days" is one who "brought with him" all the days of his life. In other words, the concept of old age in the Torah is related to personal fulfillment, while "bringing in days" is related to the impact the person had on the world.
The greatness of Abraham was that he was complete in both aspects, both in working with himself and in working with his environment.
This is a very important lesson for everyone: on the one hand, one shouldn't think that one aspect is more important than the other; both should be worked on, so that one can grow personally (for oneself) and help those around oneself grow (for others). On the other hand, we can't dedicate ourselves to only one aspect; we must work on both equally.