A young farmer buys a plot of land that is
undeveloped, filled with rocks, in terrible shape. He spends a great deal of
time clearing the field, removing the
rocks, cultivating the soil. Finally, he is able to
plant vegetables and is very proud of the viable farm that
he has fashioned out of desolation. In church on
Sunday, he invites his minister to come and
visit, so proud is he of what he has achieved. The
minister drops by later in the afternoon, and is quite
impressed. The pastor says: These are
the biggest tomatoes I have ever seen! Praise the Lord! And these carrots! The Lord is great! And this corn! The Lord
has worked wonders!
The farmer comments: Reverend, I wish you had
seen this field when the Lord was doing it by himself!
Moral: We are shutafim la-Kadosh Barukh Hu
bma-aseh Bereishit,
God’s partners in creation. But we don’t rely
upon miracles -Rabbi Phil Scheim
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