Cry With You

I’d like to share with you a story I continue to find, even many years after first hearing it and retelling it countless times, a great reminder and inspiration. I trust it will be for you too.

A man makes the long journey to his teacher and tells him that his son is in a terrible condition and that the doctors have given up hope. Without his teacher’s intercession, the man’s son will certainly die.

“Is there anything that you can do to help?” he asks. The spiritual master prays and meditates. He tries everything possible, and finally, after hours of effort, he turns to his student and says, “I’m sorry, but the gates of heaven are closed. There is nothing that I can do for your son.”

The man is desolate. He gets on his horse and starts traveling back home. As evening falls, he hears the sound of a horse galloping behind him; he turns around and sees his master. He thinks that perhaps his master was able after all to open up the gates of heaven.

“What is the news?” he asks eagerly. “I’m sorry,” the master says, “the gates of heaven are still closed. But after you left, I realized that, even if I cannot help you, with my prayers and meditations at least I can cry with you. That is why I have come.”

The two men sat together on a rock at the side of the road and wept.

The story, as told by spiritual masters throughout the ages, has a happy conclusion – the child was actually healed. However, the lesson was not about that, but about how we can continue loving and caring even when we think there is nothing we can do about a situation.

I think we all reach that point, whether it’s with our friends, family, or community, where we decide we can’t do any more. And yet, what this story teaches us is there is always more we can do.

This week think about people with whom, for whatever reason, you stopped helping because you felt there was nothing more you could do for them. Find something more you can do. There’s no telling what gates it can open for them (and for you).

It’s All Prepared

Problems will easily overwhelm us if we think that coming up with the solution is entirely up to us. However, if we realize the solution has already been prepared in advance and all we have to do is create a little opening for it to come in, then the solution manifests itself far easier.

There is a teaching from the 18th century kabbalist, Rav Elimelech of Lizhensk, in which he quotes a verse from King David, “God, you have done great things. Your thoughts and blessings are brought to us.”

He explains to us that the Creator has already “done great things,” meaning he has prepared all the blessings and assistance we need to overcome our challenges, to answer our questions, and to gain more wisdom. It has all been prepared for us. All we have to do is (in his words) “shake it slightly” and then “blessings are brought to us.”

This amazing store of assistance, which is available to us at any given moment, has been prepared in advance by the Creator. Therefore, our work is relatively easy. When I think about this concept, I imagine a big bucket filled to the brim with water, precariously hanging from a rope a few feet above ground. Tip it slightly, and it all comes pouring down.

However, many of us have the opposite thought. When faced with an overwhelming situation – consciously or not – we get stuck because we think we have to come up with the solution all by ourselves. This teaching reveals how easy it can be to address our challenges when we stop thinking we need to solve them on our own.

That’s why he explains the verse, “God you have done great things, your thoughts and wonders are brought to us.” The Creator has already created our assistance and blessings, and, therefore, it can be easy for us to manifest them.

Rav Ashlag, the great 20th century kabbalist, uses the analogy of a father who stores away gold and silver in a room in his house that will serve to fill all of his son’s needs. Inside the room there is enough treasure to last a lifetime. One day the son is sitting in the room with the lights off, completely unaware of its contents, worrying about how he’s going to survive in the future. Of course, we can see that all he needs to do is open the window, let some light in, and then he will see that he’s surrounded by everything he could ever want. But he is unaware.

We too are unaware of all the assistance that has been prepared and set aside for us. All that’s required is a little shaking of this consciousness, and a window will be opened to the prepared Light.

This week, any time you are feeling overwhelmed and in need of clarity, remember that the assistance to your difficulty has already been prepared – you just need to shake it slightly, and it will flow to you.

And remember, your consciousness must make the choice. It’s important to be clear about this concept because sticking with old thoughts, like “I have to deal with this all by myself,” will create a difficult path for you to walk down. However, new thoughts, such as “I know with certainty that the Light, assistance, strength, and understanding I need to bring me through this has already been prepared for me,” will create an easier path.

This isn’t just a nice lesson. It will determine your reality. The path you choose is the path you will be lead down.

The Month of Pisces: Uncovering the Secret of Happiness

This is a recent lecture I gave explaining the meaning and opportunities of this month: