Listen To The Land

This week's portion speaks about land and its ownership. Which reminds me of a beautiful story:

Two wealthy Jewish men lived in a town in Eastern Europe. They were great friends, but one day they entered into a dispute over a small piece of land. Each one felt that it belonged to him and slowly, over time, the issue came between them.

For men as wealthy as they, it was such an insignificant piece of land, but each was insistent that it belonged to him, and the dispute grew more and more unpleasant. After a while, they no longer talked to each other, and eventually they became bitter enemies.

Although neither wished to do so, members of the community convinced them to go the rabbi and have him resolve the argument. Each one presented his case and the rabbi listened carefully.

Then the rabbi asked if he could go and see the land in question. When they got there, it was clear that the land was virtually worthless in relation to each of their portfolios. The rabbi said that he could not decide who was right and in a case like this, the best thing was to ask the land itself. Both thought he was crazy as they watched him put his ear to the ground and listen carefully. He stood up nodding knowingly.

"The land has resolved this issue for us," he explained. Each was eager to hear. "The land told me," said the rabbi, "that you think it belongs to you and you think it belongs to you. The truth of the matter is, however, that one day soon, both of you will actually belong to it."

Perspective is so important in life. We can so easily become carried away on a tide of pettiness and lose all sense of our true priorities. Land is never more important than friendship, in the same way that money is never more important than a spouse, nor work more important than children. It's a sobering thought that one day every one of us will 'belong' to the earth. With that in mind, ask yourself if those things which are frustrating you right now are really all that important. Business is not going well; your house is falling apart; people aren't respecting you. Will any of these things really matter in five, let alone 50 years? Life is too precious and too fleeting to waste on pettiness.

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About the author:

Rabbi Shaul Rosenblatt

Shaul grew up in Liverpool. He studied for his smicha at Aish Hatorah in Jerusalem where he met his first wife Elana a"h who passed away in 2001 after a long struggle with cancer. They had four children together and Shaul has a further two with his second wife Chana, who he married in 2003. Shaul has written a book, 'Finding Light in the Darkness', published by Targum Press, dealing with the issue of facing hardship in a positive way. Shaul founded Aish UK in 1993 and Tikun UK in 2006 along with Dean Kaye. He enjoys most things in life.

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