Judaism is legendary for always seeing the Big Picture. That probably comes with the territory – being one of the oldest religions in the world certainly can bring a sense of perspective.
For us, the Big Picture is attained in part by always investing in the next generation, by seeing our lives as links in a chain that goes back many hundreds of generations, each clinging fast to the Torah and all that comes with it. While we live within time, we tend to invest in things that are themselves timeless – like the power of ideas and continuity, the relationships between man and G-d.
The Torah reinforces all of this. Jews are forbidden from charging each other interest, and for a simple reason: someone who charges interest has made the passage of time their ally instead of their enemy. If you are living on interest, then you can earn a living simply by waiting, from being relatively uninvolved in the lives of others, able to stand back from a safe distance and count our earnings.
Interest is forbidden, because time in the Torah is meant to be understood in very specific ways:
I will give you the rain of your land in its due time, the early rain and the late rain, that thou mayst gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thy oil (D. 11:14). … then I will give you rain in its time, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. (D. 26:4) … The Lord shall open to thee his good treasure, the heaven, to give the rain to thy land in its time, and to bless all the work of thy hand: and thou shalt lend to many nations, and thou shalt not borrow (D. 28:12). … And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days not in the time of her menstruation … (L. 15:25)
See what all of these have in common? They all deal with long-term investments: rain leading to crops, and menstruation leading to children. These are not about instant creation or results; both rain and menstruation are initial inputs that are necessary before any growth is possible. There can be gratification, but that requires ongoing investment.
Nowhere in the Torah does it refer to “time to die” – we are meant to see time for the opportunity it brings to continually seek long-term growth, to create things that span generations.
So in the Torah, time is meant for us to use toward long term investments and growth. We do not charge interest, but we certainly co-invest in the lives of others.
P.S. This piece excluded derivative words, לְעֵ֖ת , כָּעֵ֣ת , בְכָל־עֵת֙ and וַֽיְהִי֙ בָּעֵ֣ת – we focused on the core word, including עֵ֣ת, בְּעִתּ֖וֹ, and לְעֵ֣ת עֶ֔רֶב.
P.P.S. There are also other verses that refer to time at the start of new relationships (both Rivkah and Rachel), as well as the time Noah finds hope through the olive leaf that the bird brings back to him. Leaving the ark came many months later – but Noah was content knowing that the direction of travel was in the right direction, that the future would be positive.