A man came to the holy rabbi of the village for a blessing. The rabbi looked at the man for a long moment and then smiled as he blessed him the man with long life, a decent living, wealth, and respect, and concluded with the words of the Gemara, “The blessing of a simple man should not be insignificant to you” (Megillah 15a).

“What do you mean?” the man asked. “rabbi, you are one of the leading Torah scholars of our generation. Do you consider yourself a simple man? I’m surprised.”

“When a Torah scholar blesses a man,” said the holy rabbi, “what does he wish him? That he should have a love of Torah and that he should live his life full of the ways of holiness. What is the blessing of an ordinary man? A decent living, wealth, and respect. Thus, what I gave you is the blessing of a simple man.”

The man was taken aback and asked, “How then should I pray/”

The rabbi thought for a moment and answered, “There is nothing in this world that is closer to Hashem than the heart of man. It is dearer than sacrifice and more precious than all the treasures of the world combined. Pray with your heart.” (Zohar Chadash, Rus Rabbah 80a) The rabbi drifted off into thought for a short while and then continued, “‘If you direct your heart rightly (towards the heavens), you will stretch out your hands towards Him” in prayer. (Job 11:13)

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)

Rachmiel Tobesman is a motivational speaker and Maggid (spiritual Storyteller). He is available for speaking engagements or storytelling, Click here to contact us

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