There once was a Jewish man who went out into the world to seek justice, as it is written, “Justice, justice, shall you pursue” (Deuteronomy 16:20). Somewhere, he was certain true justice must exist, but he had never found it. So, he set out on a quest that lasted for many years. He went from town to town and village to village, and everywhere he went, he searched for justice. But never did he find it.
In this way many years passed, until the man had explored all of the known world except for one last, great forest. He entered that forest without hesitation, for by now he was fearless, and he went everywhere his quest led him. He went into the caves of the men of the forest with a message, “Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times.” (Psalms 106:3) The men of the forest laughed and mocked him and said, ” ‘if you seek it like silver, and search for it as for hidden treasures’ (Proverbs 2:4) you might find it, but ‘do you really expect to find justice here?’ “
He went farther into the forest and met the women of the forest as they drew water from the streams and ponds with the message, “let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an overflowing stream.” (Amos 5:24) The women of the forest laughed and mocked him and answered, “What you seek is not here here?”
He went deeper and deeper into that forest, until at last he arrived at a little clay hut. Through the window he saw many flickering flames, and he was curious about them. So he went to the door and knocked. No answer. He knocked again. Nothing. At last he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Now, as soon as he stepped inside that cottage, he realized that it was much larger on the inside than it had seemed to be from the outside, and it was filled with hundreds of shelves, and on every shelf there were dozens of oil lamps. Some of those lamps were in precious holders of gold or silver or marble, and some were in cheap holders of clay or tin. And some of the holders were filled with oil and the flames burned brightly, while others had very little oil left.
All at once an old man, with a long, white beard, wearing a white robe, appeared before him. “Shalom Aleichem (Peace be upon you) , my son,” the old man said. “How can I help you ?”
The man replied, “Aleichem shalom (and to you peace). I have gone everywhere searching for justice, but never have I seen anything like this. Tell me, what are all these lamps?”
The old man said, “Each of these lamps is the light of a person’s soul. As long as the lamp continues to burn, that person remains alive, but when the lamp burns out, that person’s soul takes leave of this world.”
The man asked, “Can you show me the lamp of my soul?”
The old man said, “Follow me,” and he led him through that long labyrinth of the cottage, which the man now saw must be endless. At last they reached a low shelf, and the old man pointed to a clay lamp and said, “That is the light of your soul.”
Now the man took one look at that lamp, and he began to tremble—for the wick was very short, and there was very little oil left, and it looked as if the wick would slide into the oil and sputter out. He wondered, could the end be so close without his knowing it? Then he noticed the lamp next to his own, also in a clay holder, but that one was full of oil, and its wick was long and straight and its flame burned brightly. “And whose lamp is that?” the man asked.
“I can only reveal each man’s lamp to himself alone,” the old man said, and he turned and left.
The man stood there, quaking. All at once he was startled to hear a sputtering sound, and when he looked up, he saw smoke rising from another shelf, and he knew that somewhere, a soul had just taken leave of the world. He turned back to his own lamp and saw there were only a few drops of oil left. Then he looked again at the lamp next to his own, so full of oil, and a terrible idea entered his mind.
He looked for the old man in every corner of the cottage, but he didn’t see him anywhere. Then he picked up the lamp next to his own and lifted it up above his own. At that instant, the old man appeared out of nowhere, and gripped his arm with a grip like iron. And the old man said: “Is this the kind of justice you are seeking? ‘you that turn justice to wormwood, and bring righteousness to the ground! (Amos 5:7)’ “
The man closed his eyes because it hurt so much. When he opened his eyes, he saw that the old man was gone, and the cottage and the lamps had all disappeared. He found himself standing alone in the forest, and he heard the trees whispering his fate. And he wondered, had his candle burned out? Was he, too, no longer among the living?
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)