It's the Christian holidays! The virtues of mercy, justice and reconciliation are delivered from pulpits, celebrated at dinner table, taught to the next generation. Just as with Ramadan (mercy and justice), Yom Kippur (forgiveness and reconciliation) and Easter (rebirth and renewal). These beliefs shared by other religions as well. Different religious traditions; identical human virtues.

Here is a modest proposal: Untether these virtues from annual observations to a daily devotional. And our guide to do just that is Shakespeare. He understood that we all are, to use his phrase, “but warriors for the working day,” doing our best to become our best. Here are three plays with three messages.

First up, “The Merchant of Venice.” Let's recap. A snotty yuppie decides to become an entrepreneur. After all, how hard could it be? (People never change, do they?) He needs financing so he takes out a loan from the Jew, Shylock, who gives him the money with one catch: If you do not pay me back by a date certain, you will give me a pound of your flesh. Date comes and goes, payment is not received and a trial is conducted on the breach. Offers from friends to repay the loan at three times the amount are rejected by Shylock. The trial judge implores Shylock to be merciful, accept the settlement and move on. The judge implores: ”The quality of mercy is not strained/it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath … It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.” The judge then goes on to explain the mechanics of this virtue: ”though justice be thy plea, consider this/that in the course of justice, none of us should see salvation/ we do pray for mercy / and that same prayer doth teach us all to render the deeds of mercy.” The message: Mercy is a karmic virtue and thus transcendent.

And in “Measure for Measure,” Shakespeare teaches us a model for dispensing justice. The characters: Angelo (the new city manager); Claudio (sentenced to death because he impregnated a woman out of wedlock; and Isabella (Claudio's wise sister). Isabella pleads with Angelo to spare her brother's life. Angelo tries to strike a deal with her: ”Redeem thy brother by yielding up thy body to my will.” Isabella outsmarts Angelo, and maintains her virtue. But Angelo is put on trial for attempted rape. It is Isabella who speaks in his defense. An argument taken right out of a 1L Criminal Law class. She reasons that at least he was guilty of “the thing for which he was (accused)”, but Angelo's plan never came to fruition so “his act did not o'ertake his bad intent and must be buried but as an intent that perish'd by the way. “ The result: Not guilty. The message: reason your way to justice.

Finally, Shakespeare's last play, “The Tempest.” A play that teaches us that we all take a long moral journey over the course of our lives in order to really appreciate these virtues. But it's a journey we do not take alone. Prospero is banished from his kingdom. He and his daughter Miranda flee for their lives. A friend, at the risk of his own life, provisions a boat for their escape. He includes a book on magic. They land on an island and Prospero, using magic, enslaves its occupants. The wheel of fate turns many years later and his one time foes are shipwrecked on the island. He enslaves them as well. Yet he changes. His daughter, who has never seen another human being, falls in love with the young son of a former tormentor. Prospero recalls the bravery of his friend. Even the fairly slave Ariel, who yearns for her won freedom, makes a plea to Prospero to show mercy and justice for the spirit believes they have learned their lesson. Prospero says: “Though with their high wrongs I am struck to the quick/ Yet with my nobler reason 'gainst my fury/ Do I take part. The rarer action is /in virtue than in vengeance.” He frees them from his spell and they becomes themselves. The message: in freeing them, Prospero frees himself.

Here is a gift for us all. (Well, it is the holiday season.) None of us are as good of a person as we think we are. We can look at this truth as a condemnation of humans. Or we can look at it as the Stoic thinker Seneca did: “Each day is a lifetime.” Which is to say that each day is a chance for redemption. Redemption through the choices we are asked to make, just like the choices confronting Shylock, the Judge, Isabella, Ariel and Prospero. Choices made regardless of the season, whether made when we sit by a blazing fireplace on Christmas Eve or a roaring air conditioner on the Fourth of July. Always our choice. Here's to a fulfilling 2019.