Tam and Chacham were in the forest where they were learning together. A young man sat down by a tree and listened to them hoping to ask them a question.  Everyday the young man would pray, but did not understand the  beginning of the Shemonah Esrei:

My L-rd, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare Your praise.

Blessed. are You L-rd our G-d:

Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d and G-d of our fathers, G-d of Abraham, G-d of Isaac and G-d of Jacob, the great, mighty and awesome G-d, exalted G-d, who bestows bountiful kindness, who creates all things, who remembers the piety of the Patriarchs, and who, in love, brings a redeemer to their children’s children, for the sake of His Name.

O King, (You are) a helper, a savior and a shield. Blessed are You L-rd, Shield of Abraham.

The young man approached them and asked, “I see that you are indeed wise and know all manor of knowledge can you explain why we begin the ShemonahEsrei do we speak of the forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?”

Chacham  invited the young man to come closer and then explained:

“The reason we use the Forefathers as the basis for the first blessing in given in Genesis 12:2. When the Holy One, blessed be He said to Abraham (then still called Abram), “I will make you a great nation, I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.”

We learn that  “Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said with regard to G-d’s blessing of Avraham: says that “I will make you a great nation” corresponds to the phrase “G-d of Abraham,” “I will bless you” corresponds to “G-d of Isaac,” and “I will make your name great” corresponds to “and G-d of Jacob.” One might think that all three of the Forefathers should be mentioned in the blessing’s conclusion, therefore the Torah says, “and you (that is, Abraham) will be a blessing.” For this reason, the blessing concludes “shield of Abraham,” naming him alone.” (Pesachim 117b)

The young man looked confused, so Tam asked him to take a deep breath and not get discouraged and gently began:

“We mention the Patriarchs at the beginning of the Shemoneh Esrai not only to praise their merits but also to challenge ourselves to try to be like them.

 You see there once was a holy rabbi learning with his students in the study hall just before the time for afternoon prayers. Suddenly a stranger appeared. From the way he was dressed, it was obvious that he was a very wealthy merchant. After sitting down, he asked one of the students to point out their teacher, the holy rabbi. When the student did so, the merchant’s face suddenly went pale.

After the prayers were over, the man approached the holy rabbi and greeted him. The holy rabbi politely returned the greeting, assuming the man was a stranger. The merchant became very sad and looked straight into the holy rabbi’s eyes and asked him “Don’t you recognize me? I am your chavrusa (study partner) from thirty years ago.”

The holy rabbi looked at him closely and said, “Of course I do. And I am eternally grateful to you, because you are the one who helped me develop my potential in learning.”

After they chatted for a while, the merchant said, “I feel devastated. Look at you, you are now a holy rabbi, respected by all and held in high esteem as a talmid chacham – a great scholar. Yet we both know that when we were students, I was the one who helped you and explained the finer points of the lessons in the school we attended. How can you ex­plain why you developed so much in learning, while I just fell behind?”

The holy rabbi thought for a few moments and replied, “Do you remember that when we were students, there was a reading room next to the study hall? In that reading room was a biography of the MaHaRal of Prague.  When you read that biography, I remember how impressed you were. You came out of the reading room with your eyes shining and declared, `He was so far ahead of his time and a brilliant rabbi!’ When I finished reading that biography, however, I said to myself that the life of this man was proof of the great heights a person can reach. I decided right then and there that I, too, would aspire to emulate him and try to become a illuy (Jewish scholar of extraordinary ability). This strong drive helped me to realize my potential and develop beyond my greatest expectations. That is the difference between us. I was not satisfied to simply acknowledge that he was an illuy, but I wanted to become one myself.”

Similarly, when we come to the point in our prayers when we mention the merits of our Patriarchs, it is not enough to simply acknowledge their greatness. We must also take upon ourselves the challenge and try to emulate them. For this reason we say, “When will my deeds reach the level of the Avos?” Even though we may not ever reach their level, we can consider it a great accomplishment to at least try to follow in their footsteps.

The young man smiled and thanked Tam and Chacham and followed a new path out of the forest and in his everyday prayer and studies.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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