A Soulful Journey

Rabbi Shalom B. Kowalski tells the story of a real estate agent in a wealthy neighborhood who saw a nicely dressed woman staring at the advertisements in his display windows. “Why don’t you come in?” he asked. “We have a much wider selection inside.” “We don’t need a house,” the woman smiled sadly.   “What we need is a garage to park the car.”   And she continued, “As children, we were sent off to private school.   Summers were spent in camp.   We grew up, off we went to college dormitories. Now we eat out in the finest restaurants. Weekends we visit. We really don’t need a home. We need a garage!”

A woman once came to a real estate agent with the intention of buying a house.   The salesman showed her a variety of dwellings but she was not satisfied.   One was too large, another too small; one had the wrong design and another was in the wrong neighborhood.   Finally, in complete exasperation, the agent said, “Madam, why do you need a home?   You were born in a hospital, educated in a school building, courted in an automobile and married in a House of God.   You live at hamburger stands and eat out of freezers and cans.   You spend your mornings at the golf course, your afternoons at the bridge table and your evenings at the movies.   All you really need is a garage.” Ask yourself:  How much do I really need?

Will Rogers once advised that people ought to invest in real estate "because they ain't makin' it anymore."