A Soulful Journey

A merchant was returning home from a long trip.   At the train station he met a man who was selling diamonds at an irresistible price.   Although he had already bought everything he wanted the merchant was sorely tempted to buy the jewels. He reflected for a while and then said, “Sir I have only $200. left.   If I travel by train third class I can save money.   If I eat only bread, drink plain water and sleep in alleyways, I can manage with just $20.   Here is $180 for the diamonds.   If you wish to accept it the deal is made.” The seller readily agreed to the sale.   The merchant placed the diamonds in a leather container which he tied around his body and left for home. At one of the stations he was recognized by a rich merchant who asked, “What happened to you?   You always travel in luxury, eat the best foods and sleep in the most expensive rooms.   Why do you now spend the night with beggars?   Did you lose your fortune?” ...

An old story comes to us from Alexander the great when conquered Persia. In the conquest, Alexander’s soldiers overran the palace of their king, Darius. Looking for things to steal, one soldier found a leather bag containing the crown jewels of Persia. The stones were priceless. However, the soldier was ignorant of their value and dumped them into the garbage saving only the leather bag. How often in life throw away jewels and keep only the leather bag.   We do it when we embrace pleasures of our bodies sacrificing our marriages to satisfy lust, when we ignore our children in search of material security, when we sacrifice our souls in our love with the world.   The great tragedies of life can be summed up like this: we threw away the jewels and kept only the leather bag they came in. Find Torah. Live Torah, Be Torah.