A house cleaner had the opportunity to observe a weekly Talmud study group which took place in the home that she worked in. One day, the family discovered that she had stolen a volume of the Talmud.
“But why?” they asked her in wonderment.
“You see, my husband has sleeping problems,” she began, “and I noticed that the attendees always fall asleep during the Talmud study…”
How many times in life have we done the same — gauged the benefits of a particular product or experience only to very quickly realize that we have totally misinterpreted its truth?
Indeed, it is a great skill to be able to discern the true value of something without being biased by the opinions of others and their experiences, and of course, the most accurate measure is when we truly experience it ourselves.
If another person has failed to realize the depth of a certain specialty or school of thought, that should not deter us from trying to discover its depth on our own.
Naturally, we tend to get caught up with the peripherals – the who, where and how, rather than the what and why. Let’s stay focused on the real things, so that we don’t merely scratch the surface of the incredible beauty inherent in Judaism, but truly experience it!
Takeaway: When it comes to things that really matter, don’t rely on someone else. Try it out yourself!
Wishing you and your family a Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendy
