That night Akiva could hardly sleep. His mother came in to check on him several times and said, “Akiva, now stop with that contest. You know we have much work to do. You have not been taking care of your chores, and you know I can’t do everything by myself. Now go to sleep Akiva.”
When Akiva’s mother came to wake him the next morning, she found his bed empty. Akiva had left for the town square at the crack of dawn, not wanting to waste a minute of the contest’s final day.
“No harm in letting him try. He’ll soon learn that troubles and disappointment are a usual part of life,” she thought to herself with a sigh.
Akiva had more determination that day than anyone in the crowd. He stood there, hour after hour, gathering the courage for the moment when he would step forward and become one of the many who tried. He was sure he was to become the one who succeeded.
When there was only about an hour left in the day, Akiva realized that it was now or never. So many people had tried, and many had been badly hurt. He waited until one of the opponents had been cleared away from the floor badly bruised, and summoned up his courage.
He stepped forward, knowing with great confidence that his plan was very different than any other scheme he had watched for days now. Akiva smiled confidently and thought to himself,” No one has tried this yet. It has to be the answer.”
A hush came over the crowd. No one talked as they watched a boy, barely as high as the waist of the bodyguard, walk ever so slowly towards the bottle. The bodyguard himself, who had seen so many schemes in the past few day, stood there confused.
Remembering his obligation, the bodyguard stiffened, his muscles clenched like steel. He saw many tricks throughout each days and knew this too could be a scheme. He watched the boy with a piercing stare, until ten yards apart, the giant and the boy locked eyes.
Deep down inside, Akiva was shaking and shivering. But he was determined, and calmly returned a wide-eyed stare in the direction of the bodyguard. The townspeople watched with bated breath as Akiva continued walking slowly, until he stood in the long, wide shadow of the bodyguard.
It seemed as if the bodyguard himself let his guard down. He almost relaxed in the presence of the boy. The boy obviously had no weapons, or knives, no plots or schemes. The bodyguard looked over his opponent very carefully and decided that the boy was not even going to attack him.
Akiva knew it was his moment. He cleared his throat and began to speak to the bodyguard. The crowd inched forward, intent upon hearing what was being said. The bodyguard himself bent down to the boy so that he could hear.
Words tumbled off Akiva’s lips, “Dear Sir, I’m very afraid of you. I’ve stood here for a few days now watching you, and I would not dream of attacking you. I’m too scared. Please don’t hurt me. I’m not going to throw anything at you, and I have no weapons up my sleeve. All I would like to say is that my mother and I live alone in a very small house. The roof leaks when it rains, and we usually can’t afford firewood. It’s just the two of us, and she has to work day and night for us to afford food. I know that the gem that is inside of the container is more valuable than anything I’ve ever seen in my life. I could use it to support my mother and me, so we wouldn’t have to struggle anymore. My mother works much too hard, and she deserves a warm house and a few pretty things. And therefore, I would like to ask you, with all of my heart, could you please . . . .”
A tear ran down his cheek, and he started his sentence again, “Could you please open up the jug and reach inside? You are the only one in the kingdom who could open it. Could you please open up the jug, reach inside, take out the gem and please give it to me?”
A long, long silence followed, as the stunned crowd took in the boy’s request. People began to shout, “That is ridiculous. It’s preposterous. So many brave people have stepped forward, tried so many intelligent schemes, so many noble acts of courage; and now a young boy comes up to the bodyguard and says, Please can you open up the jug?’ That’s absurd!”
But a strange thing began to happen as a side of the man of steel revealed itself. Tears–at first only a few but then more and more–came rolling down his cheeks and fell onto his armor.
He kneeled down, took the young boy in his hands and kissed him on the forehead. Then he took the boy’s hand into his own, and the two of them walked together towards the jug. All of the people of the town watched spellbound as the great, strong bodyguard of the king took the jug in his hands and began to twist with all of his might.
Moments later, the lid came off of the jug. The bodyguard reached deep inside the container and pulled out the most spectacular gem that anyone had ever seen. With a smile of satisfaction, he put the gem inside of the boy’s hand.
So many people approach everyday challenges with plans, schemes, tricks and raw force. They look for complicated solutions when in truth the answer is quite simple. Just communicating with another can change the situation. Sometimes the best way to get what one needs is to stand before the Holy One, blessed be He and sincerely ask — not fight, not scheme, not plan, but just ask for your needs from your heart. Believe it or not, as mystical and impossible as it seems, the Holy One Blessed be He hears the sincere words of prayer; and they penetrate the highest of places and He listens. All you have to do is ask with all of your heart.
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)
